A 16-year-old is in Rangpur jail for 12 days after his arrest in the case filed over Abu Sayed’s killing.
Begum Rokeya University student Sayed was shot and killed during the quota reform protest near his university on July 16.
Video footage shows police shooting Sayed, who posed no threat to the law enforcers. He died soon afterwards.
But contradicting what is clear as daylight, the First Information Report filed by police says Sayed was not a victim of police firing. “The protesters fired weapons and threw chunks of bricks from different directions, and at one stage, a student [Sayed] was seen falling to the ground,” read the FIR.
“Police have shown my son Mahim arrested in the Abu Sayed murder case,” said Md Shahjalal, who owns a photo studio in Rangpur city.
Alfi Shahriar Mahim, a first-year HSC student of Rangpur Police Lines School and College, is 16 years and 10 months old, said his father, citing his birth certificate.
Public Prosecutor Rafiq Hasnain at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Rangpur said Mahim was not a named accused in the Abu Sayed murder case, but he was shown arrested in that case.
Shahjalal filed a prayer seeking bail for Mahim, and the hearing will be on August 4, he said, adding that the matter has been transferred to the children’s court.
Shahjalal told The Daily Star that Mahim on July 18 was hanging out with his friends at Parkermor near his home, which is also close to the Begum Rokeya University. He was in his college uniform.
When violence erupted around Parkermor, panicked Mahim ran towards the opposite direction to his home and suffered shotgun pellet injuries to his leg, said his father, quoting Mahim’s friends.
Mahim’s father Shahjalal said they looked for Mahim all day but at night he received a call from someone claiming to be a law enforcer. The person said Mahim was in their custody and that he would be released the next day, July 19.
Shahjalal called the person the next day but this time he said Mahim would not be released.
That afternoon, the father learnt that Mahim was sent to Rangpur jail after he was produced before a court.
In a Facebook post at 8:24pm yesterday, a sister of Mahim claimed that the commissioner of Rangpur Metropolitan Police called the family to his office yesterday. He assured them that Mahim was in good health and urged the family to be at the court during proceedings today. He also told them that Mahim would be released after the court proceedings today.
The Daily Star could not reach any Rangpur police officials for comments last night.
Daily star