Martyr Abu Sayeed. File Photo

By Md Mamun Islam
 

RANGPUR, July 27, 2025 (BSS) – After the details of the case filed by the police in the murder of martyr Abu Sayeed became public on July 28, 2024, student coordinators, ordinary students, and common people instantly erupted in anger.
 
As on previous days, on July 28, student coordinators and student activists of Begum Rokeya University and other educational institutions in Rangpur were on the run to avoid threats of police arrest, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances.
 
On July 28, mass arrests of students, political activists, and the general public continued in dozens of cases filed by the police against so-called 'miscreants' during an indefinite curfew in Rangpur city and Rangpur division.
 
After learning the details of the case filed by the police in the murder of Abu Sayeed that day student coordinators and everyone else erupted in anger as they realized that the fascist regime was completely turning the murder around.
 
Earlier, Abu Sayeed, a 12th batch student of the Department of English at Begum Rokeya University, was shot dead by police on July 16 while leading the anti-discrimination student-public movement that took an unstoppable shape.
 
A video broadcast on several private television channels and social media that day showed Abu Sayeed shot in the chest, abdomen and all over his body by police, and his fellow comrades trying to carry him from the scene in a seriously injured condition.
 
Many eyewitnesses and students clearly witnessed that Abu Sayeed was killed in police firing on July 16 in front of the university. 
 
But in the case filed by SI Bibhuti Bhushan Roy in this regard at Tajhat Metropolitan Police Station on July 17, 2024, the day after Abu Sayeed's death, the police claimed that Abu Sayeed was not killed in police firing. 
 
The details of the case came into light only on July 28.
 
The details of the case mention that the illegal mob, armed with ordinary or deadly weapons, obstructed government work and committed crimes by causing serious injuries, theft, vandalism, damage, arson and killing innocent students. 
 
Although the details of the case do not mention any names as accused, it says that two to three thousand disorderly students who are miscreants in the name of agitating. There are also leaders and activists supported by BNP and Jamaat-Shibir with them. 
 
It further states that the police personnel were beaten up and seriously injured and several miscreants, including students who were involved in the anti-state agitation, started firing indiscriminately from various directions, throwing bricks and stones and firing indiscriminately from the firearms they had nearby. 
 
In order to bring the situation under control, the police also fired 169 rounds of rubber bullets from their government-issued shotgun from an APC vehicle. The entire university area turned into a battlefield. 
 
At one stage, a student was seen falling on the road during the firing and throwing of bricks by the protesters from various directions. 
 
Then, his classmates caught him and took him to Rangpur Medical College Hospital for emergency treatment at 3:05 pm, where the doctor on duty declared him dead. The deceased student's name is Abu Sayeed, 23, the case details say. 
 
Knowing such information from the case filed by police in the martyr Abu Sayeed murder incident, student coordinators, ordinary students and the public instantly alleged that the police had given false and fabricated information in the case. 
 
There is no mention of Abu Sayeed being shot by the police in the case file. They have called the police report a staged drama. 
 
Ordinary students then said that although Abu Sayeed died in police firing during the movement, no clear case had been filed regarding the murder. On the contrary, the police have blamed the protesters to cover up their own faults. 
 
Talking to BSS, student coordinator Shamsur Rahman Suman of the university questioned, “Is the incident of the public shooting in the chest that the whole world saw on social media a lie?”
 
Moreover, the protesting students did not have firearms in their hands, proof of this can be found if you watch the video. 
 
“In addition, the videos that were circulated on social media in Abu Sayeed's death show him standing with his arms outstretched while the police are firing from a shotgun from the opposite direction,” Suman, a close fellow fighter of Abu Sayeed, said.
 
At one stage, when Abu Sayeed was shot, other students took him to the hospital. The doctor on duty there declared him dead. 
 
Many students witnessed that Abu Sayeed was shot dead by the police in front of them although the police case mentioned that the protesters kept firing from different directions and throwing bricks. At one point, a student was seen falling to the ground.
 
“The police are lying about this murder and trying to mislead the people by spreading false and fabricated information. We do not accept this drama orchestrated by the police. This false case must be withdrawn,” Suman told BSS after knowing the case details.
 
Like Suman, other leading student coordinators Md Rahamat Ali and Sabina Yasmin, immediately after knowing the case details, demanded that the university administration must take steps to withdraw this false case filed by the police. 
 
After knowing the case details on July 28 at that time, Professor Dr Tuhin Wadud of the university’s Bengali Department, said that he was present when bullet-hit Abu Sayeed was taken to Rangpur Medical College Hospital. 
 
He told the media that Abu Sayeed had bullet injuries in more than a hundred places on his body, including his hands, chest, belly, back, and face. Blood was leaking from the back of his head. 
 
Demanding exemplary punishment for the police who mutilated Sayeed's body, he said, "The police cover-up in this matter is mysterious. People want to know what punishment has been given to that police officer." 
 
He said, "The incident of Abu Sayeed's death has shaken the world. However, there is no clear case in this incident. The university authorities have also not filed a specific case regarding this murder. We are disappointed with this. We want justice." 
 
At that time, the then Begum Rokeya University authorities had formed a three-member investigation committee with Professor Dr Matiur Rahman of the Department of Management Studies as the convener. 
 
The committee had been asked to submit a report on this matter as soon as possible. But they had not been able to submit the report yet till July 28. 
 
Meanwhile on July 28 (Sunday), Abu Sayeed's family members along with family members of some other July uprising martyrs met the then Prime Minister at Ganabhaban in the capital. 
 
Earlier on July 27, as part of the diversion of the murder of martyr Abu Sayeed, the administration took Abu Sayeed's family members to Rajarbagh Police Lines in Dhaka to arrange a meeting with fascist Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
 
By creating a tactful; pressure on them, the administration took Abu Sayeed's father Md Mokbul Hossain, mother Monwara Begum, brother Abu Hossain, sister Sumi Akhter and sister-in-law Sabina Akhter to Dhaka that day.
 
On July 28 in the afternoon, Sheikh Hasina handed over savings certificates and cash assistance to 34 families, including Abu Sayeed, at the ceremony at Ganabhaban. 
 
After meeting the fascist Prime Minister on July 28 at Ganabhaban and coming back to Rangpur, Abu Sayeed’s mother Monwara Begum told local reporters, "I told Sheikh Hasina that I want justice for my innocent son’s murder." 
 
After meeting the Prime Minister, Abu Sayeed’s father Mokbul Hossain demanded that no other child should have to give his life like this. A suitable environment must be ensured for everyone. 
 
“I want the police who shot and killed my son Abu Sayeed to be given the highest punishment. I will never get my son back. But I want to convince my mind through justice,” he said. 
 
Meanwhile, the then Rangpur Divisional Commissioner Md Zakir Hossain informed journalists on July 27 (Saturday) night that the curfew would be relaxed for 16 hours in all eight districts of Rangpur division from 6 am to 10 pm on Sunday (July 28). 
  
He clarified that the curfew would be relaxed from 6 am on July 28 in Panchagarh, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Gaibandha and Rangpur districts of Rangpur division. 
 
“Like other days, on Sunday (July 28) too, BGB, police, RAB and Ansar members will work in the field with the army to ensure security,” the then Divisional Commissioner said. 
   
The then Rangpur Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Mobasswer Hasan told local journalists on July 28 that apart from the army, BGB, police, RAB and Ansar members were working to maintain law and order across the district. 
 
“Joint force patrols have been strengthened in the entire district to avoid any untoward incident,” he said.