• Police press charges against 21 DU students; six in jail, 15 fugitives
• Attackers demanded Tk 35,000 from family, before beating him
• Though DU proctorial team delayed response was not mentioned in charge sheet.
• A second case was filed against the hall's former provost and 14 students, but proceedings stayed.

Before mercilessly beating 35-year-old Tofazzal Hossain at Dhaka University's Fazlul Haque Muslim Hall, the attackers demanded Tk 35,000 from his family as compensation for stolen mobile phones.

When Tofazzal's uncle, Abdur Rob Mia, refused to pay, the accused became enraged and severely beat the mentally unstable man with a cricket stump and bamboo stick on his shoulders, back, legs, and thighs.

Tofazzal died due to severe injuries and blood loss. These findings were detailed in the charge sheet for the murder, which occurred on September 18 last year.

Md Asaduzzaman, inspector (investigation) of Shahbagh Police Station, submitted the charge sheet on January 1 to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka.

Following a three-month investigation, 21 Dhaka University students were named as accused in the case filed by the university authorities against unidentified perpetrators on September 19 at Shahbagh Police Station.

Six accused -- Jalal Mia, 24; Ahsan Ullah alias Bipul Sheikh, 24; Al Hossain Sazzad, 21; Mottakin Sakin Sah, 21; Md Sumon Mia, 21; and Wajibul Alam, 21 -- are in jail and have given confessional statements in court.

The remaining 15 accused -- Firoz Kabir, 23; Abdus Samad, 23; Sakib Rayhan, 21; Yeasin Ali Gain, 21; Yamuzzaman Yam, 21; Fazle Rabbi, 23, Shahriar Kabir Shovon, 24; Mehedi Hasan Imran, 24; Ratul Hasan, 20; Sultan Mia, 23; Nasir Uddin, 22; Mobasser Billah, 24; Shishir Ahmed, 21; Mohosin Uddin, 22; and Abdullahil Kafi, 21 -- are on the run.

The charge sheet does not mention any political affiliation of the accused.

Confirming the development, Inspector Asaduzzaman told The Daily Star yesterday, "We have mentioned all findings from the investigation in the charge sheet."

The charge sheet is now pending a court hearing, scheduled for February 2.

According to the charge sheet, the incident began around 2:00pm on September 18 with a cricket match on the Fazlul Haque Muslim Hall field, during which six mobile phones were stolen. Later that evening, during a football match, Tofazzal arrived at the field around 7:45 pm.

Suspecting him of being the thief, the students started punching and kicking him. They then took him to the guest room of the hall's main building, as mentioned in the charge sheet.

TOFAZZAL ASKED FOR FOOD

In the guest room, Yamuzzaman and Imran slapped and punched Tofazzal indiscriminately.

At one point, Tofazzal, extremely hungry, asked for food, said court sources citing the charge sheet.

In response, the accused Wajibul, Suman, and Yamuzzaman took him to the hall canteen and gave him rice to eat. While Tofazzal was eating, the other accused gathered in the canteen to discuss their plans.

After the meal, the accused took the victim back to the guest room.

There, Ratul brought a cricket stump, while Yamuzzaman and Sakib brought bamboo sticks. They then asked Tofazzal to provide the contact numbers of his relatives. He gave them the numbers of his sister-in-law and uncle.

The accused called his uncle and demanded money. When his uncle refused, the torture escalated. The beatings continued until Tofazzal lost consciousness, police mentioned in the charge sheet citing investigation findings.

IGNORED HOUSE TUTOR'S INTERVENTION

Upon hearing about the incident, house tutors Zahir Raihan, Mahbub Alam, Shafiul Alam, and Alamgir Hossain arrived at the guest room and attempted to stop the accused. However, their intervention was ignored, stated the charge sheet.

When Tofazzal became unconscious due to the beating, the accused brought him back to the guest room. There, they took turns in beating him with cricket stumps, targeting his legs, thighs, waist, and back, causing severe bleeding and injuries.

They tied one of the victim's hands to a window with a rope, pressed his right hand underfoot, and beat him all over the body with cricket stumps, according to the charge sheet.

They also cut his hair with a scissor, it added.

When the university's proctorial team arrived, the house tutors insisted that Tofazzal be taken to the hospital. However, the accused delayed putting him into the proctorial team's vehicle, police investigation found.

The unconscious Tofazzal was eventually transported to Shahbagh Police Station by the accused -- Mostaqin, Sazzad, Wajibul, and Suman -- along with the house tutors, using the proctorial team's vehicle. Police, seeing the victim's critical condition, advised immediate medical treatment.

The accused then took Tofazzal to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where the on-duty doctor pronounced him dead after examination.

OMISSIONS AND ADDITIONAL CASE

Police dropped the names of Roki, Saqlain, Robotic Sohag, Parvez, Ashraf Munshi, Abu Raihan, and Rabbikul Riyad from the charge sheet, despite their involvement being mentioned in the confessional statements of the six accused, according to court sources.

Police stated in the charge sheet that no evidence was found to prove these individuals' involvement.

The charge sheet also did not mention anything about the proctorial team or the hall house tutors.

When asked about it, Inspector Asaduzzaman said multiple incidents took place on campus at the time, delaying the proctorial team's response to the scene.

Separately, on September 25 last year, Asma Akter, a cousin of Tofazzal, filed another case with the court accusing Prof Shah Md Masum, former provost of Fazlul Haque Muslim Hall, and 14 students.

However, the investigation into this case has yet to begin, as the court ordered to stay the proceedings under section 205 (D) of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.

It stated that the magistrate shall stay the proceedings of such inquiry or trial and call for a report on the matter from the police officer conducting the investigation on the same offence.