A Dhaka court has accepted the charge sheet submitted by the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) against 28 people in the case over the beating death of mentally unstable Tofazzal Hossain, who was suspected of theft at Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall of the University of Dhaka.
Among the accused, 22 are absconding and the court has issued arrest warrants against them.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana passed the order on Tuesday after accepting the charge sheet.
The accused include Jalal Mia, Ahsan Ullah alias Bipul Sheikh, Al Hossain Sajjad, Mottakin Sakin Shah, Suman Mia, Wazibul Alam, Firoz Kabir, Abdus Samad, Sakib Raihan, Yasin Ali, Yamuzzaman alias Yam, Fazle Rabbi, Shahriar Kabir Shovon, Mehedi Hasan Imran, Ratul Hasan, Sultan Mia, Nasir Uddin, Mobashwer Billah, Shishir Ahmed, Mohsin Uddin alias Shafi, Abdullahil Kafi, Sheikh Ramzan Ali Rocky, Rashed Kamal Anik, Moniruzzaman Sohag, Abu Raihan, Redowanur Rahman Parvez, Rabbikul Riyad and Ashraf Ali Munshi.
Among them, Ahsan Ullah alias Bipul Sheikh and Wazibul Alam are on bail. Jalal Mia, Al Hossain Sajjad, Mottakin Sakin Shah and Suman Mia are currently in jail, while the remaining 22 accused are absconding.
Prosecution SI Jinnat Ali said the complainant, Mohammad Amanullah, had earlier indicated that he would file a protest (naraji) petition against the charge sheet but did not submit it.
“As a result, the court has accepted the charge sheet against the 28 accused in the case today. Since 22 of them are absconding, arrest warrants have been issued against them,” he said.
Thirty-two-year-old Tofazzal Hossain was tortured in a guest room of Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall on the night of September 18, 2024. A video that circulated on social media showed that he was fed rice before the assault, while he was asked how he felt about the meal. Later, around midnight, several students took him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where the duty doctor declared him dead.
The following day, September 19, Mohammad Amanullah, a supervisor at the university’s estate office, filed a case with Shahbagh Police Station over the incident.
After investigating the case, Shahbagh Police Inspector Md. Asaduzzaman submitted a charge sheet to the court on December 30 last year, accusing 21 students of the University of Dhaka.
However, the Dhaka University administration filed a protest petition stating that the investigation had not been conducted properly. On February 26 last year, the then Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Saifuzzaman ordered the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to reinvestigate the case.
Following the reinvestigation, PBI Additional Superintendent of Police Hannanul Islam submitted a fresh charge sheet on December 15, adding seven more accused, bringing the total to 28.
According to the case statement, at around 7:45 pm on September 18, a young man was seen moving suspiciously near the gate of Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall at the University of Dhaka. Some students detained him and took him to the guest room of the hall’s main building. Accusing him of stealing a mobile phone, they slapped and beat him indiscriminately. During questioning, the man identified himself as Tofazzal.
Realising that he was mentally ill, the students later took him to the hall canteen and gave him food. Afterwards, they brought him to a guest room in the hall’s south building, tied his hands to a window, and some unruly students beat him severely with stamps, hockey sticks and sticks until he lost consciousness.
Tofazzal was from Kathaltali Union of Patharghata upazila in Barguna district. Although he had completed a master’s degree in accounting from Barishal BM College, he had not been working due to mental health issues.
A few days after the incident, on September 25, the victim’s cousin Asma Akter filed another case with the court against 15 people, including Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall Provost Shah Mohammad Masum. The court recorded her statement and ordered that the case be investigated together with the one filed by the university authorities.
