RU Correspondent :
Investigation into the murder of Prof AFM Rezaul Karim Siddiquee is near to end , said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal at Rajshahi University on Saturday.
“We will shortly bring the killers to justice, but we shall not disclose anything now for the sake of investigation”, he said this while speaking at a “Teacher-student’s rally” organized to protest the gruesome murder of Prof Rezaul Karim.
“Additional law enforcing members will be deployed at Rajshahi, specially surrounding the campus for security reason.”
“We have taken Prof Rezaul killing case with much importance and justice will be done,” the Home Minister told Prof Rezaul’s daughter Rizwana Hasin Shatovi.
Addressing the rally, Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Haque said, “We are working, but nothing will be discussed now for the sake of investigation.”
He urged the teachers and the students to keep faith in police administration.
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid condoled the death of Prof Rezaul Karim and urged the home minister to ensure the security of the teachers as they are the pillars of education. He expressed solidarity with the movement of RU teachers and students and said that seven-point demands will be considered duly.
The demands, among others, included holding fair investigation, tracing out real killers, ensuring speedy trial and giving of exemplary punishment to the killers.
He also urged the law enforcing agencies to take preventive measures so that no such incident takes place in future on the RU campus.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam urged the teachers and the students not to be afraid and said, justice must be done. Addressing the rally, Prof Dr. Farid Uddin Ahmed and Prof Maksud Kamal, President and Secretary General of Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers’ Association (FBUTA) respectively expressed gratitude to the ministers for visiting RU campus.
They also vowed to continue their movement until justice is ensured. RU Vice-Chancellor Prof Muhammad Mizanuddin welcomed the ministers on the campus.
Earlier, one minute’s silence was observed for showing respect to the departed soul of Prof Rezaul Karim.
Among others, RU Pro-VC Prof Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan, RUTA President Prof Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah and Prof Rezaul’s daughter Rizwana Hasin Shatovi spoke at the rally.
Meanwhile, the ministers visited the residence of Prof Rezaul Karim and condoled the death.
Prof Siddiquee, a teacher of RU English department, was brutally murdered in Rajshahi’s Shalbagan area on April 23 by some unidentified miscreants. Following the murder, protests from teachers and students of the university sparked on campus.
