Police say Bushra was not involved in Fardin’s death, so why is she still in jail?

The investigation findings of the case filed over the death of BUET student Fardin Noor Parash not only sparked controversy but also raised a question that involves another female student Amatullah Bushra, who was arrested over a month ago.

Bushra, a private university student and a friend of Fardin, was arrested by police from the capital's Banasree area on 10 November, a few hours after Fardin's father Kazi Nur Uddin filed a murder case.

Bushra's family claimed that she had been framed in a "fictitious" case and her life is at "stake" now.

After a month of investigation, the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DB), also the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), last Wednesday said Fardin was not murdered but died by suicide – a claim which was not in accordance with their previous remarks.

Initially, both agencies said Fardin might have been murdered by drug peddlers.

Fardin death: BUET students satisfied with police investigation

The investigative agency, DB police, also said it found no evidence of Bushra's involvement in Fardin's death, which begs the question: why is she still in jail over murder charges? 

When asked, the investigating agency tried to pass the bucket onto the plaintiff – Kazi Nur Uddin.

"It was not the fault of the detective branch, you should ask the question to the deceased's father, Kazi Nooruddin. He sued Amatullah Bushar in the case and then Rampura police picked her up from her residence on 10 November, the same day the case had been transferred to the detective branch and we sought remand for her, taking her into custody," an official of the DB Motijheel Division told The Business Standard, wishing anonymity. 

"At that time, it was the regular proceedings for any type of murder-related case investigation," said the police official, adding: "If she was not arrested then and later found involved in the case then people would have blamed us now."

When asked about the matter, Kazi Nur Uddin, refused to make any comment on why he had implicated Amatullah Bushra in the murder case. 

Nur Uddin also disregarded the police's rhetoric about his son's death by suicide. "I still believe that it was not suicide, it was premeditated murder," he said, adding that he would file a no-confidence petition in this regard.

A day after the detective branch revealed the probe findings of the case, DB chief Harun-Or Rashid on Thursday said they would inform the court that they did not find any involvement of Amatullah Bushra in Fardin Noor Parash's death.

Rafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of the Rampura Police Station, told TBS that they had requested Fardin's father not to mention Bushra's name in the case.

"As she is still a student, we told him [Nur Uddin] that we even can frame her when we get concrete evidence during the investigation. But he was stubborn and said as she was last seen with my son then she should be accused," the OC added.

After the arrest, Amatullah Bushra landed in Kahsimpur Central Jail 2.

Her father Monjurul Islam recently went to visit her at the prison. Talking to the media, Monjurul Islam said, "During a limited conversation, she told me – 'I am innocent. Why have I been denied bail?"

Monjurul Islam said he tried to comfort her by saying, "The court is adjourned for a few days, they are on vacation. You will be granted bail soon."

"A university student locked in prison for over one month for no reason – how insane is it? Her mental health has deteriorated," the aggrieved father said.

Bushra's uncle Mazharul Islam said, "The public already came to know the truth. She is innocent but still suffering in prison. Is not it a miscarriage of justice?"

"We want her immediate exemption from the case," he further said.

However, the court sources said Bushra has to remain in prison until 5 January of next year as the next date of the case hearing is scheduled for that date. 

Ishrat Hasan, a human rights lawyer of the Supreme Court, told TBS that accusing someone on the basis of assumption is lethal. 

"It will be very hard for the girl to overcome the kind of mental distress she had to go through over the last month. The police should have been more careful in dealing with such cases," the lawyer added.

BUET students satisfied with police, RAB investigations

The students of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and the classmates of the deceased Fardin Noor Parash have expressed their satisfaction with the progress made by investigators in the case.

"We have no doubts anymore about the investigation being conducted by the RAB and DB police in Fardin's death case," students said at a briefing on Saturday after visiting the DB and RAB headquarters on Thursday and Friday to learn about developments in the case.

"We were a bit confused after visiting the DB office. But the confusion was dispelled after a visit to the RAB headquarters, where they presented all their findings and evidence to us in a three-hour meeting," said one BUET student, wishing not to be named.