Fardin’s father accuses Bushra of involvement, suspect’s family denies allegation

The mystery behind the death of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) student Fardin Noor Parash remains unresolved nearly three years after the incident, as fresh disputes have emerged over the role of Amatullah Bushra, the sole suspect in the case.

Following political shifts, Fardin’s father, Kazi Nuruddin Rana, alleged that his son’s murder was linked to the killing of BUET student Abrar Fahad, claiming that Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) members were behind both murders.

He said Bushra had been “used” in the plan to kill his son.

Rejecting the allegation, Bushra’s father Manjurul Alam Sabuj said his daughter had no connection with Chhatra League and was “falsely accused” to harass her.

“They are tormenting my innocent daughter. Rana will face the consequence of this,” he said.

Fardin went missing on November 4, 2022, and his body was recovered by the river police on November 7 from the Shitalakkhya River in Narayanganj.

Before his disappearance, he was last seen with Bushra in the Rampura.

Fardin’s father filed a general diary with Rampura Police Station after his son went missing.

Two days after the recovery of the body, on November 10, he lodged a murder case at the same police station, naming Bushra as the only suspect.

The case has faced repeated delays. The investigative officer from the CID, ASP Moshiur Rahman, could not submit the chargesheet on October 28.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jamshed Alam has now scheduled November 30 for the report submission.

In a written statement, Fardin’s father alleged, “After the brutal killing of Abrar Fahad at the BUET campus on October 7, 2019, Fardin emerged as one of the leaders resisting the ‘fascist’ student organisation on campus. In Sheikh Hasina’s regime of killings and disappearances, Fardin dared to ask on social media, ‘How can one survive in this country -101?’”

He also wrote, “Fardin had the courage to disrupt a commemorative programme for Hasina’s father, the so-called Father of the Nation, standing in defiance of ‘fascism’, just as he once stood with the cry ‘I am Abrar’ against the same killers.”

Abrar, a student of BUET’s Sher-e-Bangla Hall, was beaten to death on October 6, 2019, by Chhatra League members inside the residential hall, sparking protests that led to a ban on student politics at the institution.

At the time of his death, 24-year-old Fardin was a third-year student in the Department of Civil Engineering at BUET and served as the joint secretary of the university’s debating club.

Bushra, his friend, studied in the Department of English at East West University and lived in a mess in Banasree, near the campus.

According to Fardin’s father, the two met about five years earlier during a debate competition.

Bushra was arrested in connection with the case and spent two months in jail before being granted bail on January 8, 2023. She was released two days later.

On February 6, 2023, Inspector Yasin Shikder of the Detective Branch, the then investigating officer, filed a final report seeking Bushra’s discharge.

He said, “Fardin died by suicide due to frustration over financial hardship, including his inability to raise airfare for a debate competition in Spain, and the pressure of supporting his younger brothers’ education through tuition. After interviewing 12 witnesses, no evidence of murder was found.”

The initial investigation was conducted by Rampura Police, later transferred to the Detective Branch (DB), while the RAB carried out a shadow investigation.

As Fardin’s phone signal was last detected near the Chonpara area by the Shitalakkhya River, rumours spread about a possible drug-related connection.

After 40 days, both the DB and RAB concluded that Fardin had taken his own life by jumping off the Sultana Kamal Bridge in Demra on the night he went missing.

Unsatisfied with the findings, Fardin’s father filed a naraji (no-confidence) petition on April 16, 2023, rejecting the DB’s final report.

The court accepted his plea and ordered the CID to conduct a further investigation.

Rana continued to claim that his son was targeted for his stance against student politics at BUET. “When senior BCL leaders came to the BUET campus under their party banner, Fardin and his classmates drove them away, shouting ‘murderers’.

“In Hasina’s ‘fascist’ regime, after he disrupted a commemorative event for her father on August 14, 2022, the next day at Dhaka University’s Raju Memorial, Chhatra League’s president incited intelligence agents to attack Fardin and his friends, labelling them as fundamentalists and Pakistani sympathisers.”

He accused former BUET Chhatra League leaders, including Engineer Md Abdus Sabur, now president of the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB), and Engineer Monjurul Haque Monju, of masterminding the killing.

“Both Abrar Fahad and Fardin Noor Parash were victims of the same forces,” he alleged.

Bushra, currently out on bail, has denied any involvement. Her father said, “Bushra has no connection to the incident. There is no evidence against her. They are mentally tormenting my innocent daughter. She is being harassed for no reason.”

He added, “Even if someone wanted to use her, there would have to be some link. She has no connection with Chhatra League. Fardin’s father is in pain, but he is wrongfully harassing my daughter, and he will face the consequences.”

Attempts to contact the investigating officer Mashiur on Thursday night were unsuccessful.

A woman who picked up his phone said, “He is currently busy and cannot assist with any inquiries.”

When the journalist introduced himself, she asked to call back at 11:00 pm.

Multiple calls were made at that time, but no one received the phone.