If my son was targeted for my action against drug dealers, I won't accept it: Apratim's mother
Attempts are being made through social media to implicate the seventh-grader in criminal activities, she says.
The mother of 13-year-old Ishayat Shahriar Apratim today (22 September) said her son was targeted because of her actions against drug addicts and dealers while she was serving as the acting proctor of Comilla University.
Dr Nahida Begum, an associate professor in the university's Bangla Department, said she had handed over many drug addicts and dealers to police while serving as the acting proctor at the beginning of 2025.
"If my son was targeted because of my actions against drug dealers, I will not accept it. If I have committed any crime, punish me," she said during a courtesy visit by representatives of the Cumilla District Bar Association to Apratim's family at their home in Kotbari's Gandhamati.
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"If taking action against drug dealers is my crime, I will face the punishment. But why should my son suffer? Why was my son killed?" she said.
Nahida said attempts were being made through various social media posts to portray Apratim as involved in criminal activities.
"They are trying to link my son with them. But he was innocent. He was a little child and knew nothing about such things," she added.
She also said she was not seeking justice only for her son, but was also concerned that those responsible for his killing could harm other children if they were released from jail.
"I want a fair trial. If those who killed my son come out of jail, they may destroy more lives and harm more children," she added.
Meanwhile, the Cumilla District Bar Association had decided not to represent the accused in Apratim's murder case on humanitarian grounds. The public prosecutor had said a state-appointed lawyer would represent the accused if no private lawyer agreed to take the case, in the interest of a fair trial.
Apratim, a seventh-grade student at Border Guard Public School, was the only son of Nahida and KM Firoz Shahriar.
He went missing on 18 September after leaving home with his mother's iPhone to take photographs with friends.
Police recovered his body the following day from a jungle in Kotbari near Comilla University. He had suffered severe head injuries.
According to Cumilla Superintendent of Police Anisuzzaman, police initially detained Saiful Islam Tuhin after CCTV footage showed him with Apratim on the university campus and later taking him towards the Sananda area.
Police subsequently detained Fahad and Kamrul based on information obtained from Tuhin.
At a press conference on 20 September, the SP said the three were directly involved in the killing and that the attack had been planned to steal Apratim's iPhone.
According to the SP, Apratim resisted when they tried to take the phone, after which Tuhin, Fahad and Kamrul repeatedly struck him on the head with bamboo sticks. Police later recovered the iPhone from Tuhin's home.
Apratim's father filed a murder case at Sadar South Police Station around 12:30am on 20 September, naming no accused.
Police later arrested Mohammad Siam, the fourth accused, whose involvement was still being investigated.
Police subsequently showed all four -- Tuhin, Fahad, Kamrul and Mohammad Siam -- arrested in the case.
On 20 September, Tuhin, Fahad and Kamrul were produced before a Cumilla court after expressing their willingness to give confessional statements. The magistrate gave them three hours to consider the matter before recording their statements, after which they were sent to jail.
