Tofazzal Hossain, who was beaten to death by a mob, had been held captive at the Dhaka University’s Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall for over three hours, starting at 7:45pm on Wednesday.
According to witnesses, students assaulted him in a guest room of the dormitory and then took him to the dining room to feed him. They then moved him to another guest room where they tortured him again.
While this horrific incident was occurring, house tutors called the hall provost repeatedly, but the provost, who lives on the hall premises, did not respond.
The provost, Prof Shah Md Masum, went to the hall around 8:00am on Thursday and that too only after an assistant proctor had visited his office to discuss the formation of a probe committee.
Proctor Saifuddin Ahmed, the head of a proctorial team responsible for safety and security on the campus, told The Daily Star that he came to know about Tofazzal being taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital around midnight on Wednesday.
Instead of moving critically injured Tofazzal straight to a hospital, the mobile team of the proctor’s office took him to Shahbagh Police Station around 11:00pm on Wednesday.
The 35-year-old was moved to the hospital around 11:30pm. Doctors pronounced him brought dead around 12:45am on Thursday.
Tofazzal was a familiar face to many resident students of DU. He would often wander about the campus, dorms, and gladly eat if somebody offered him food.
His cousins say he “lost his mind” after the death of his parents and brother and became a drifter.
“Had the university authorities taken prompt steps, Tofazzal Hossain might have survived,” Ziaur Rahman, a former DU student, said at a protest rally on the campus yesterday.
Students hailing from Patharghata upazila of Barguna, the home district of Tofazzal, organised the protest at the foot of Aparajeyo Bangla.
Chhatra Union and Samajtantrik Chhatra Front also demonstrated on the DU campus, protesting against mob justice.
Provost Prof Masum admitted that he was not present at the scene on Wednesday night.
“Had I known about the incident, I would have gone there,” he told this correspondent last night.
He said he stayed at his official home on the hall premises on Wednesday night.
The house is one minute’s walk from the main building of the dormitory.
Proctor Saifuddin said he came to know about the assault on Tofazzal around midnight on Wednesday and that he went to the DMCH around 4:00am on Thursday.
EIGHT FOUND INVOLVED
A probe committee, led by Prof Alamgir Kabir, a house tutor of Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall, primarily found eight DU students involved in assaulting Tofazzal, said sources in the university.
The committee has submitted its report to the university authorities.
The university may disclose the names of the suspects today and take punitive action against them.
In another development, six DU students yesterday confessed to their involvement in torturing Tofazzal, Sub-Inspector Saifur Rahman told The Daily Star.
The six are Muhammad Jalal Mia, a student of physics; Suman Mia, a student of soil, water and environment; Mottakin Shakin, a student of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science; Ahsanullah, a student of mathematics; and Al Hussain Sajjad and Wajibul Alam, both students of geography and environment.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Saddam Hossain recorded the confessional statements of the six in the Tofazzal murder case, the SI said.
The magistrate later sent the accused to jail.
Tofazzal was buried at his family graveyard in Char Duani village of Barguna’s Patharghata upazila yesterday morning, said his family.
The grieving locals demanded exemplary punishment for those involved in the murder.
Daily Star
