All suspects acquitted over murder of Rajshahi University Chhatra League activist Faruk Hossain

A court has acquitted all suspects in the 2010 murder case of Rajshahi University (RU) Chhatra League activist Faruk Hossain.

Rajshahi Metropolitan Sessions Judge Zulfikar Ullah delivered the verdict in the widely discussed case around 2:15 pm on Sunday.

All 114 accused in the case were leaders and activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir. Jamaat's then chief Matiur Rahman Nizami and some senior leaders were also accused, reports bdnews24.com.

State lawyer Ali Ashraf Masum said the court acquitted all of them as the charges could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt based on the evidence.

Of the 114 accused in the case, nine have died in the 15 years since the murder, while 25 of the 105 living suspects were present in court when the verdict was announced.

On the night of Feb 8, 2010, Faruk Hossain – a Chhatra League activist and student of the RU Department of Mathematics – was killed in a clash between the Chhatra League and Islami Chhatra Shibir in the Shah Makhdum Hall area. The next day, his body was recovered from a manhole at the university, sparking widespread controversy across the country.

Majedul Islam Apu, then general secretary of the RU Chhatra League, filed a case with Motihar Police Station as the plaintiff. The case named 35 leaders and activists of Jamaat and Shibir, and also accused 20-25 unidentified people.

After a lengthy investigation, police submitted a 1,269-page charge sheet to the court on Jul 28, 2012. It accused scores of Jamaat and Shibir leaders and activists, including then party chief Nizami, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid, deputy chief Delwar Hossain Sayedee, then Rajshahi Metropolitan unit chief Ataur Rahman, RU Chhatra Shibir president Shamsul Alam Golap and RU Chhatra Shibir secretary Mubarak Hossain.

The trial dragged on for 15 years before a verdict was finally declared on Sunday.

In response to the verdict, state lawyer Ali said, "It is not possible to say whether we are happy or unhappy with the verdict as it stands. We will review it in detail once we get a copy of the verdict. However, it is believed that the case was influenced by political motives from the start, and the true perpetrators have yet to be uncovered."