The Police Bureau of Investigation, or PBI, have recovered the glass used to douse kerosene on the body of Feni madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi before she was set on fire.
The glass was discovered inside a wall cabinet in the principal’s office on the second floor of the Sonagazi Islamia Fazil Madrasa building on Wednesday, said PBI Inspector Md Shah Alam, the investigating officer of the case.
The object has been kept as an item of evidence in the case.
Police conducted a drive at the madrasa building with the three accused in the case, Shahadat Hossain Shamim, Javed Hossain and Zubayer Ahmed, in tow.
Despite the trio having previously made confessional statements to the court under secion 164 of the Penal Code, the PBI were granted a day’s remand of the accused on Wednesday afternoon.
The drive on Wednesday was led by PBI Additional Superintendent Md Moniruzzaman along with police inspectors Monayem Hossain and Lutfur Rahman.
Nusrat, who was a candidate of this year’s Alim exams, brought an allegation of sexual harassment against the madrasa’s principal SM Siraj-ud-Daula.
Police subsequently arrested Siraj in connection with the case initiated by Nusrat’s mother Shirina Akhtar on Mar 26.
Nusrat had gone to the madrasa to sit the Alim exam on Apr 6 when four assailants clad in burqas poured kerosene on Nusrat on the building’s rooftop and set her on fire after she allegedly refused to withdraw the case.
Almost 85 percent of her body was burnt in the incident which eventually led to her death on Apr 10.
Nusrat’s brother Mahmudul Hasan Noman filed a case over the incident on Apr 8, naming eight people, including the principal as the main accused. The case transformed from attempted murder to murder following Nusrat’s death.
The PBI subsequently took charge of the investigation and arrested 21 people, including eight of the accused, in connection with the incident. Siraj and 11 others have already given confessional statements before the court.
Details of the murder came to the fore following the statements they gave after their arrests. Based on the accounts, Siraj ordered his students and associates to set fire to Nusrat from jail, according to the PBI.
The PBI also recovered the burqa’s worn by Shahadat and Zubayer at the time of the attack but is yet to find the one used by Javed.
