Two accused in Jubo Dal activist murder case placed on seven-day remand

A Cumilla court has placed two brothers accused in the murder of Jubo Dal activist Md Abu Kawsar on a seven-day remand each, as local residents and party leaders pressed police to ensure justice for the killing.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Farhad Raihan Bhuiyan passed the order last evening (18 October), after the investigating officer sought 15 days of remand for each accused.

The accused are Touhidul Alam Touhid and his elder brother Tanzir, Public Prosecutor Advocate Kaimul Haque Rinku confirmed.

Earlier in the day, local residents staged a protest outside Kotwali Model Police Station in Cumilla city, demanding justice for Kawsar, a Jubo Dal worker from Ward 4 who was hacked to death in broad daylight on Friday.

Meanwhile, BNP and Jubo Dal leaders held discussions with the officer-in-charge (OC) over including everyone allegedly involved in the killing, as well as those suspected of planning it.

Videos showing exchanges at the police station have circulated widely on social media, including Facebook.

At around noon on Sunday, a delegation of district and metropolitan BNP and Jubo Dal leaders met the OC and requested that the case be recorded in line with their complaint.

A dispute reportedly arose between police and party leaders over the number of accused named in the complaint, delaying the filing of the case. The matter was later resolved and the case recorded.

Kawsar's elder brother, Kabir Hossain, a former vice-president of Cumilla South District Jubo Dal, said he had expected a swift legal response as his party was in power but had struggled to file the case.

"My brother is dead, and I cannot even go home because of his children's crying," he said.

Khalilur Rahman Biplob, senior joint secretary of Cumilla Metropolitan BNP, said the complaint did not name people indiscriminately.

Besides those directly involved in the killing, several others were allegedly involved in planning it, he said, adding that the delay in recording the case prompted party leaders to meet the OC. The issue was resolved later, he added.

Kotwali Model Police Station OC Md Touhidul Anwar said a case had been filed on Sunday, naming five accused, including the two arrested men, along with two to three unidentified persons.

Police launched an operation to arrest those involved after the killing on Friday. At a press briefing on Saturday evening (17 October), Cumilla Superintendent of Police Md Anisuzzaman announced the arrests of Touhid and Tanzir.

The two brothers were arrested in connection with the murder, and police are trying to apprehend the other accused, the OC said.

According to police, Kawsar was hacked to death on Friday morning (16 October) in the Chhatrakhil area on the northern bank of the Gumti River in Adarsha Sadar upazila of Cumilla.

The killing reportedly stemmed from a dispute over a piece of Water Development Board land.