Nusrat Murder: PBI recovers glass used to pour kerosene

The glass that was used to pour kerosene on Sonagazi madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi was recovered yesterday evening in Sonagazi of Feni by Police Bureau of Investigation (PIB).

The glass was recovered from a wall cabinet inside Sonagazi Islamia Madrasa principal’s office located on the first floor of the institution’s administrative building, said Mohammad Moniruzzaman, additional superintendent of PIB in Feni.

A team of PIB took along the case’s three accused -- Shahadat Hossain Shamim, Javed Hossain alias Sakhawat and Saifur Rahman Md Jobair -- to the madrasa and recovered the glass, based on their statements, he added.

Earlier, Senior Judicial Magistrate Md Zakir Hossain placed each of the three accused on one day’s remand against a prayer for two days’ remand for each, said Shah Alam, an inspector of PBI and investigation officer of the case.

The fresh remands for the trio were sought for recovery of further evidence and for further interrogation, he also said.

According to the court, in a declaration made before her death, Nusrat said before her attackers set fire to her, they had used a glass to pour kerosene on her.

Until yesterday, the glass, a crucial evidence in the crime, could not be recovered.

The three accused in remand and two girls, all wearing burka, set Nusrat on fire after tying her hands and legs with rope. 

On April 6, Nusrat Jahan Rafi, a student of Sonagazi Islamia Senior Fazil Madrasa, was set on fire, allegedly for refusing to withdraw a case she had filed against her madrasa principal for sexually harassing her in late March.

She lost her battle for life on April 10, five days after she was set afire -- an incident that sparked outrage in the country.

So far, a total of 21 people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in Nusrat Jahan Rafi’s murder and 18 of the arrestees have been placed on different terms of remand.