Six Dhaka University Students Confess to Lynching, Sent to Jail

Six Dhaka University students arrested in connection with the lynching of a man named Masud Kamal Tofazzal at Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall have submitted confessional statements to the court under Section 164.

Following the submission of these statements, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Saddam Hossain ordered that the students be remanded in custody.

The investigation officer (IO) for the case, Sub-Inspector Aminul Islam, presented the six accused before the court. After they agreed to provide confessions, the IO requested that the court record their statements.

The students are alleged to have assaulted Tofazzal in the hall on Wednesday night. It is reported that after apprehending him, the students took Tofazzal to a guestroom, where they beat him repeatedly until approximately 10:00 PM.

At one point during the assault, Tofazzal expressed that he was very hungry. The beating was paused, and he was taken to the hall canteen, where he was fed dinner before the students resumed the assault. The house tutors of the hall arrived at the scene after 10:00 PM, and several students later transported Tofazzal to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Upon arrival, the on-duty doctors pronounced him dead, and the students left his body at the hospital.

When DMCH authorities informed Shahbagh Police Station, officers were dispatched to the hospital to prepare a first information report. Following a postmortem examination, Tofazzal's body was handed over to his relatives.

Subsequently, Dhaka University authorities filed a murder case at Shahbagh Police Station regarding the incident. Following the case's registration, the investigation officer and senior officials from Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) visited the scene. The Dhaka University Proctorial Body later handed over six students to Shahbagh Police Station, suspecting their involvement in the murder.

The arrested students are Md Jalal Mia, Suman Mia, Mottakin Shakin, Al Hussain Sajjad, Ahsanullah, and Wajibul Alam, all of whom are residential students of Fazlul Huq Hall.

Jalal Mia, a Physics student, is also a former deputy secretary of science and technology affairs for the hall's Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL). He resigned from the BCL to participate in quota reform protests in July. The political affiliations of the other five suspects are not yet known.

Witnesses reported that former BCL leader Jalal struck Tofazzal multiple times, with several others also participating in the assault. A video captured eight to ten students from the hall, including Jalal, mercilessly beating Tofazzal.