Play store
Students of Comilla University have demanded that the trial in the murder case of schoolboy Ishayat Shahriar Aprotim be completed within 60 days and the maximum punishment be ensured for those responsible.
The students made the demand at a silent procession on the university campus on Tuesday, wearing black badges and observing a one-minute silence in memory of Aprotim, the only child of the university’s Bangla department Associate Professor Dr Nahida Begum.
The students put forward four demands, including completing the trial within 60 days after arresting all those involved and ensuring the maximum punishment.
They also demanded the withdrawal of the Superintendent of Police of Comilla and the officers-in-charge of Sadar South and Adarsha Sadar police stations, alleging negligence in handling the case.
Their other demands include establishing a permanent police outpost on the Comilla University campus, taking visible measures to improve law and order in the area, and forming a rapid-response unit to ensure the safety of missing persons.
Naim Bhuiyan, a university student and convenor of the Jatiya Chhatra Shakti’s Comilla South district unit, alleged that those arrested in the case were linked to juvenile gangs.
He called for an investigation into whether any individual or group was patronising such gangs.
Students also demanded stronger security in the Kotbari and Lalmai hill areas and said they would continue their protests until their demands were met.
Aprotim, 13, a seventh-grade student at Border Guard Public School and College in Comilla, went missing from the Kotbari area on September 18 after leaving home to take photographs with his iPhone.
His body was recovered the following day from a forested area near Lalmai Hill in Sananda village.
Police have arrested four people in connection with the murder.
Three of them have reportedly given confessional statements before a court. Police have said Aprotim was killed over his iPhone, while students and some university teachers have called for further investigation into the circumstances behind the murder.
