I was first to protest Abu Sayeed's killing, supported July movement: Kalimullah tells court
The investigating officer first tells the court that evidence had linked Kalimullah to the case and requests that he be shown arrested.
Former Begum Rokeya University Vice-Chancellor Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah told a Dhaka court that he was the first person to protest the killing of Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayeed in Rangpur and that he supported the July movement.
"I was the first to protest Abu Sayeed's killing. I was the first to raise my voice. There is a record of it. I did not work against the July movement anywhere. I supported the movement," he told the court.
Kalimullah was produced before the court today (30 July) for a hearing on a police application seeking to show him arrested in a case filed over the attempted murder of Mustain Billah Sabbir in Uttara West Police Station in connection with the July movement.
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Acting on the police application, Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Zakir Hossain granted the request to show him arrested in the case.
Earlier, on 28 July, the case's investigating officer, Uttara West Police Station Sub-Inspector Md Abu Sayeed, submitted the application to show Kalimullah arrested. The court fixed Thursday for the hearing in his presence.
At around 2:30pm, police brought Kalimullah from the CMM Court lock-up to the courtroom under tight security and placed him in the dock before proceedings began.
The investigating officer first told the court that evidence had linked Kalimullah to the case and requested that he be shown arrested.
State prosecutor Muhammad Shamsuddoha Sumon said Kalimullah was a beneficiary of Sheikh Hasina's regime, and alleged that he had been involved in the shooting of student protesters during the July movement and in the disappearance of their bodies. He said the victim in the present case was shot in the Uttara West area on 19 July and supported the investigating officer's request to show Kalimullah arrested.
Opposing the application, defence lawyer Abdur Rashid argued that Kalimullah is an academic whose work is teaching, not carrying firearms.
Kalimullah was originally arrested by the Detective Branch (DB) of police from his Mohammadpur residence on 7 August 2025. His bail petition was rejected that day, and he was sent to jail, where he has remained in custody since then.
