Father files murder case against 8 students

Ateef Sheikh

The father of the deceased Indian student Ateef Sheikh yesterday filed a murder case accusing eight students of the University of Science and Technology, Chittagong (USTC) including two of Ateef's roommates and the girl who used to stay in his room.

The five other accused students -- three Indian and two Bangladeshi -- are Maisnam Winson Singh, Gangmei Niraj, Tongbram Jyotsana Debi, Prabhakar Laishram, Malemnganba Mayengbam, Athokpam Ronald, Promesh Chakma alias Tuku, and Sojol Chakma alias Moon.

“It's a pre-planned murder,” claimed the father, Abdul Khalek in the written complaint.

According to the complaint, Ateef, a MBBS final-year student, used to live in a flat on the fourth floor of a six-storey building in the port city's Akhber Shah area along with three other Indian students of USTC -- Winson, Niraj and Jyotsana.

On Friday, they organised a “drink (alcohol) party” from 7:00pm to 10:30pm joined by the five other students.

Ateef was murdered with sharp weapons and his body was taken to a hospital around 1:45am on Saturday early hours. The father suspected the eight, present at the flat at that night, for the murder.

“We received his complaint and registered that as the case,” said Muhammad Alamghir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Akhber Shah Police Station. The OC said they are yet to arrest anyone but keeping an eye on the accused.

“So far we have known that an Indian student was taken to a hospital with injury marks of sharp weapons and another with suffocation marks. Of those, the former was declared dead.”

“It would become clear how Ateef was killed and Winson injured and who is/are behind the incident, as we continue our investigation.”

Niraj, a roommate of the two, brought them to the hospital on Saturday early hours.

Niraj claimed that he found Winson hanging from the ceiling and blood stained body of Ateef on the floor of Winson's room. Later, he shouted for Jyotsana and then they took the two to the hospital.

However, while talking to police, Jyotsana said when she entered she saw both Ateef and Winson were lying on the bed, said Farook Ul Haque, deputy commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (west division).

Both of them said they did not hear anything suspicious while the incident was taking place inside the flat.

DC Farook said, “We have talked to seven persons who were present at the flat on that night except for Winson who is in the hospital. No one could tell us how the murder took place.”

“If anything wrong had happened inside the flat, Jyotsana and Niraj should know that,” Farook said. “No one is above suspicion.”

CMP Assistant Commissioner (Double Mooring circle) ABM Faizul Islam said, “To get more details regarding the incident, we have to quiz Winson. He is not currently in a condition of speaking but according to doctors he would be within a week.”