Abu Sayeed murder: 16-year-old college boy granted bail
A Rangpur court has granted bail to Md Alfi Shahriar Mahim, 16, in a case filed over the murder of Abu Sayeed, who was shot during the quota reform protest in the district on 16 July.
Rangpur Juvenile Court Judge Mostafa Kamal passed the bail order following a hearing at 1pm on Thursday, confirmed Court Inspector Pritish Kumar Sarkar of Rangpur Metropolitan Police.
Mahim was arrested by Rangpur police on 16 July and named as an accused in the murder case the next day, according to the official version.
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The arrest came to the spotlight after his sister, Sanjana Akter Sneha, on Wednesday made a Facebook post about the matter. The post went viral, drawing a lot of criticism regarding the arrest of a minor.
On Thursday, Sneha in another Facebook post confirmed that her brother had been bailed.
She said, "The police commissioner was very helpful. We, the whole family, are grateful to him. We are grateful for the way the administration, media, and lawyers all helped."
Abu Sayeed, 25, was at the forefront of the protesters when a clash broke out between police and quota reform protesters in front of Rangpur's Begum Rokeya University on 16 July, as media reports suggest.
Videos of the clash, captured by multiple media outlets, show other protesters standing behind Sayeed. The police were stationed directly in front of him, right at the main gate of the university.
As per the footage, it was these police officers who fired rubber bullets, injuring the English student of the university.
The arrest and a call
Mahim, an 11th grader at Rangpur Police Lines School and College, was not arrested on 16 July, according to her sister.
On 18 July, Mahim headed out for college from home to attend an exam. Midway, he learned that the exam had been postponed, Sneha wrote in her first Facebook post.
"At the time, he joined a procession with friends but got separated from them when police fired tear shells. Later, on 18 July, we learned from his friends that he got hit with a rubber bullet in his leg and that the locals admitted him to a hospital," she said.
Sneha added that despite looking at hospitals till 10pm on that day, they could not find Mahim anywhere. Later, a call came in her father's phone.
"Your son is in our custody. Your son will be harmed if you tell people about it. He will be released tomorrow. There is nothing to worry," said the person from the other, according to Sneha.
However, Mahim could not be found despite the family members looked for him at the police stations on 19 July. In the afternoon, they were informed in a call that Mahim had been sent to jail.
"When we looked at the court documents, we learned that he had been arrested in Abu Sayeed's murder case," she added.
What police said
Sub-Inspector Zillur Rahman, investigating officer of the case, on Wednesday told TBS, "On that day [16 July], when our Tajhat Police Station was set on fire, and [protesters] were picketing, he [Mahim] was caught from the spot.
"The atmosphere in Rangpur was tense that day. Mahim was in our custody. The next day, he was produced in court. The situation remained heated that day too. Because of this, we could not verify his age."
Stating that police were mandated as per the law to not keep arrestees like Mahim more than 24 hours into their custody, Zillur said. "We hurriedly produced him before court," he added.
Abu Sayeed's murder case
The killing of Abu Sayeed brought nationwide condemnation regarding police brutality during the quota reform movement.
A case was filed on 17 July by Begum Rokeya University Police Outpost In-Charge Bibhuti Bhushan Roy over the killing.
The case document states, "At around 2:15am, anti-government agitators started throwing bricks like rain from different directions and randomly fired shots from their guns. To disperse them and bring the situation under control, police officer Sohail fired 169 rounds of rubber bullets from his government-issued shotgun from the APC vehicle. The entire university area became a battlefield."
Regarding Sayeed's death, it said, "At one stage, a student was seen lying on the road after the agitators threw bullets and bricks from different directions. His classmates rescued him and took him to Rangpur Medical College Hospital where the doctor on duty declared him dead. In connection with the incident, 2,000-3,000 unidentified people have been made accused."
Police fired shotgun towards Abu Sayeed: Amnesty
Amnesty International on 17 July published a report, alleging that "at least two police officers discharged 12-gauge shotguns directly towards him from across the street."
"Sayed clutches his chest on impact as officers fire at least two more times," said the human rights organisation, verifying two videos.
Amnesty also said they used satellite imagery to geolocate the positions of Sayeed and the police officers and found that they were at a distance of about 15 metres during the shooting.
"Also, Sayed posed no apparent physical threat to the police," added the report.
Derrick Pounder, an independent forensic pathologist who examined photos of the wounds to Sayeed's chest, told Amnesty International, that the wounds are consistent with birdshot, a kind of shotgun shell.
"This was a seemingly intentional, unprovoked attack on an individual posing no threat to police officers, using ammunition designed for hunting which is extremely dangerous and unlawful for use in the policing of protests." said Taqbir Huda, regional researcher for South Asia at Amnesty International.
