Case filed over JnU student Jobayed murder 2 days after body recovery

A case has finally been filed accusing three individuals in connection with the murder of a Jagannath University student, two days after the recovery of his body.

Enayet Hossain Saikat, elder brother of the victim Md Jobayed Hossain, a Chhatra Dal leader, filed the case at Bangshal Police Station this morning (21 October), DMP Lalbagh Division Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mallik Ahsan Uddin Sami confirmed.

Police later in the day filed a request to record the statements of three individuals, including Jobayed's student Barjis Shabnam Barsha, in connection with the murder.

The case's investigation officer, Sub-Inspector Md Ashraf Hossain, submitted the request.

Jobayed's blood-stained body was recovered from the staircase of a house on Panir Pump Goli on 19 October, said Rafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Bangshal Police Station. 

The body was later sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.

The mother of one of the suspects, Mahir Rahman, who has been accused in the case, reportedly turned her son over to the police early yesterday, when no case had been registered yet.

Mahir's uncle, Imran Sheikh, told The Business Standard over the phone that Mahir's mother herself took her son to Bangshal Police Station between 6:30am and 8am today and turned him in.

However, police at the time denied taking Mahir into custody. "There was no such incident," DC (Lalbagh Division) Mallik told TBS.

In response to another query, he said Jobayed's body had been handed over to his family, adding that they had gone to their hometown to complete the funeral rituals.

A case would be filed after they return, the police officer added.

Jobayed, a student of the statistics department (Session 2019-20) and a member of the JnU Chhatra Dal convening committee, was found fatally stabbed on the staircase of a house in Armanitola on the evening of 19 October, where he had gone to tutor a student.

"We wanted to file the case naming five people: the student Barsha, her parents, her boyfriend Md Mahir Rahman and the boyfriend's friend Md Nafis. The OC of Bangshal Police Station refused to register it," Jobayed's brother Saikat said at the time.

He alleged, "The OC advised us not to name so many people in the case. He told us that if we named the girl's parents, the case would become 'lightweight.' But we insist on naming them. We demand justice for my brother's murder."

When asked, Bangshal Police Station OC Rafiqul Islam stated, "We will accept the case with the names of whoever they want to include, but we advised them to discuss the matter with university teachers before making a final decision."

Notably, CCTV footage reportedly shows two young men fleeing the scene around the time of the murder, though their faces are unclear.

For the past year, Jobayed had been teaching Barsha physics, chemistry and biology at a house called Roushan Villa on Nurbox Lane, Armanitola, Old Dhaka.

After the murder, police earlier took Barsha into custody for questioning. 

She was escorted from her residence at around 11pm on Sunday night following extensive interrogation. 

Following the murder, JnU students demanded the swift arrest of the perpetrators, holding a sit-in in front of Bangshal Police Station and blocking the Tatibazar intersection.

JnU yesterday announced a two-day mourning to honour the deceased.