No headway in Bakar case

Investigation into the killing of Dhaka University student Abu Bakar Siddique has made no headway.

Neither the two university probe committees nor the police could identify the persons responsible for the killing even three months after the incident.

Abu Bakar, a third year bachelors student of Islamic History, was severely injured by a teargas shell lobbed by the police during clashes at F Rahman Hall between two rival factions of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) on Feb 2 and died at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital the following day.

A university committee and a hall committee were formed to identify the persons responsible for his death, side by side with a police investigation.

The nine-member university committee packed up the enquiry without ascertaining the exact reason behind the violence or identifying the persons responsible. It recommended a fresh enquiry "by a high-level expert committee".

The syndicate, however, expelled ten students from the university following the submission of the report.

On the other hand, the provost himself expressed his doubts over the success of the five-member F Rahman hall committee probe.

"I cannot hope for any success of the hall committee enquiry when the university committee has failed to make any breakthrough," he told bdnews24.com.

Hall committee head Abul Quashem said: "What can we do when the death was caused by a clash of two factions of the ruling party's student wing?"

Mentioning that the hall authority and the proctor called in the police to control the situation during the clash, he said: "I don't understand how the hall authority alone can be responsible for an action that was taken jointly by the hall authority and the proctor."

When asked what was in the university probe committee report, its member secretary and university proctor KM Saiful Islam told bdnews24.com: "We didn't make any comment on Abu Bakar's death. It was not possible to make any comments."

"We recommended constitution of an expert committee. The vice-chancellor has to decide about that."

After the Feb 2 clash, BCL's Barisal group activist Omar Faruque filed a case with the Shahbagh police station against 14 BCL leaders and activists loyal to the then hall committee president Saiduzzamand Faruque.

The 14 were charged for injuring Bakar, which was later turned into murder case after his death.

The investigation of the case is progressing at a snail's pace.

The investigation officer, Emdadul Haq, said he has collected the post-mortem report, issued letter for medical certificates of the injured and took statement from 3/4 injured students.

Asked when the investigation might be completed, he told bdnews24.com: "It's not possible to mention a specific time. It may take one week, one month or one year."

To a question on why none has been arrested, Haq said: "Still there is no necessity to arrest anyone. We'll take initiative when arrest is needed."

AMBIGUITY

Asked what the university has done for trial of Bakar's killers, the proctor said the hall authority has filed a case in connection of his death.

But Shahbagh OC Rezaul Karim said no separate case has been filed.

The one filed by Faruque is being considered a murder case, he added.

FAIRNESS QUESTIONED

F Rahman hall students said room and hall mates of Bakar while giving statement to the university probe committee held the police responsible for his death.

But there are allegations that their statements have not been reflected in the probe report.

"The proctor was made the member secretary of the probe committee though he himself called in the police. He tried to protect the police to save himself," said a roommate of Bakar preferring not to be named.

VC SPEAK

DU vice-chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique told bdnews24.com that Bakar's is a murder for sure.

"We want trial of the killing."

"It would have been better if everyone's statements had been included. Now if the syndicate thinks that facts have not been reflected in the report, there may be a fresh investigation."