Rafiqul Islam, Kushtia Correspondent : Students held a protest demanding arrest and exemplary punishment for the killers in the case of the strangulation of Sajid Abdullah, a talented student of the Al Quran and Islamic Studies Department of the Islamic University (EB) in Kushtia.

The protest was held in front of the university`s administration building from 1 pm to 3 pm on Wednesday (August 27).

Earlier, Fuad Hasan, a student of the 2020-21 academic year of the Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Department and a member of the central committee of the Bangladesh Democratic Students` Union (BAGCHAS), called for the protest on Tuesday night.

Also present were Abir Hasan, a student of the 2020-21 academic year of the Development Studies Department, Rafi, Fazle Rabbi, Mostafizur Rahman, Nazmul Hasan and Mainul Hasan, a student of the 2024-25 academic year of the Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Department.

At that time, students were seen holding various placards. For example, ‘Where is my safety? We want justice for Sajid’s murder’; ‘Brother Sajid is in the grave, why is the murderer outside’; ‘Will DU get justice, not IB?’; ‘Why are Sajid’s murderers outside, I want answers from the state’; ‘We want to find Waliullah and Al-Mukaddas brothers’.

During the sit-in program, Fuad said that even though 40 days have passed since the murder of Sajid Abdullah, it is still not known who committed this murder and why. Everything is normal on the campus now. Those who killed Sajid are still roaming in the open air. There is no guarantee that this murderer will not kill any of us tomorrow. The murder of Sajid Abdullah is not a common matter, it is related to the security of 18,000 IB students. The failure of this state and administration to catch the murderers even after 40 days of the murder has shown the failure of this state and administration. We will not stop until Sajid Abdullah`s killers are hanged. If necessary, we will cross the EB campus and go to the Jamuna, but we will not spare Sajid`s killers.

It is worth noting that on the afternoon of July 17, students recovered the floating body of Sajid Abdullah, a student of the university`s Al Quran and Islamic Studies Department for the 2021-22 academic year, from the pond of Shah Azizur Rahman Hall. Although it was initially thought that he died by drowning, the forensic report revealed that Sajid was strangled to death. Since then, university students have been protesting for justice in Sajid`s murder and demanding a safe campus. Later, the administration`s Facts Finding Committee recommended an investigation through a high-level investigation agency.