Nearly four years after the sensational murder of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) student Fardin Noor Parash, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has once again failed to submit its further investigation report, marking the 37th deferated deadline in the case.
Judge Al Biruni Mir of Court No 29 at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court fixed 14 October as the new date for report submission after the CID failed to produce its findings. No hearing took place as Ayatullah Bushra, the sole named accused in the case, was absent after submitting an illness petition.
Discovery of body and autopsy findings
Fardin Noor Parash, a third-year student of Civil Engineering at BUET, went missing on 4 November 2022 after leaving his residence in Konapara, Demra, for the BUET campus. Four days later, his body was recovered from the Shitalakshya River in Narayanganj.
Dr Farhad Hossain, autopsy physician at Narayanganj Victoria Hospital, told the media that several injury marks were found on the victim’s head and chest. He confirmed that Fardin died of internal bleeding, concluding that it was undoubtedly a murder.
Protests and allegations
The news of the murder sparked widespread agitation on the BUET campus and across the country, prompting general students to hold repeated human chains demanding justice and the arrest of the perpetrators.
Students strongly alleged that members of the BUET Chhatra League—desperate to regain their dominance following severe punishments over their involvement in the Abrar Fahad murder—kidnapped, forcibly disappeared, tortured, and murdered Fardin to intimidate general students.
Fardin’s father and plaintiff, Nooruddin Rana, echoed these claims, stating his eldest son was targetted and killed in a planned manner to suppress aggrieved general students following the Abrar Fahad killing. He further accused the murder clique of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina of executing a farce investigation to stage a “suicide drama” and divert the direction of the case.
Police obstruction and ongoing delays
Rana disclosed that he was compelled to file the initial case without explicitly naming Chhatra League members to ensure the safety of his family. He also said that he faced resistance from senior Detective Branch (DB) officials when moving to name Fardin’s acquaintance, Ayatullah Bushra, in the case.
Although Rana became hopeful when the case was included in the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances set up during the interim government, he expressed deep frustration and anguish over the continuing delays six months into the present elected government.
Seeking an end to the judicial impasse, he has appealed for the direct intervention of the prime minister to secure justice for his son.
