A former leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League Rajshahi University unit was brutally lynched in Rajshahi city on Saturday night on charge of attacking protesters on August 5 during the mass upsurge.
Deceased Abdullah Al Masud was the former assistant secretary and member of the RU and Central committees respectively. He was a resident of Budhpara area of the city, said police.
Masud was attacked in Binodpur Bazar near the university on Saturday night. He was severely injured and later handed over to the police station. After being taken to the hospital, he died around 12:30 am that night.
SM Masud Parvez, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Boalia Model Police Station, said that Masud was attacked in connection with allegations of an assault on students and the public on August 5.
He was initially taken to Matihar Police Station by a group of students. However, as there was no case registered at Matihar Police Station related to the August 5 incident, Masud was subsequently arrested under a violence case at Boalia Police Station.
The OC mentioned that Masud was severely injured in the mob attack and, given his condition, was transferred to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RAMEC) with the help of the Army. But he died there. Legal actions will be taken if his family wants.
While Masud was in custody at Boalia Police Station, he claimed, "I had come to Binodpur to buy medicine. I was targeted because I used to be in the Chhatra League."
Salahuddin Ammar, a coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement at RU, was present at Boalia Police Station when Masud was brought in. Ammar had previously brought two youths to the station on charge of raping and killing a female student on August 5.
Ammar noticed Masud being brought in but did not recognize who had brought him.
Upon hearing of Masud's death, Ammar said, "We were busy with the duo we brought in. In the midst of that, we saw someone being brought in injured, but we couldn't identify who had brought him. The police should have handled this situation better."
It was learned that after being unemployed for a long period, Masud wrote a letter seeking employment to then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the end of 2022.
Following this, on December 6, 2022, Director-7 Mir Taufey Siddika of the Prime Minister’s Office requested the then Vice-Chancellor of Rajshahi University to appoint Masud to the position of Section Officer.
Following this, Masud was appointed as a store officer at the university’s medical centre on December 20, 2022.
He joined the position on December 22.
