Md Joynal Abedinn Khan :
The 16-year old Abu Bakar, a madrasa student, who killed his junior fellow, was picked up by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) from the city’s Sadarghat on Wednesday morning.
Abu Bakar allegedly killed his younger madrasa mate Abdur Rahman alias Zidan, 12, in the sleeping condition at Madinatul Ulum Madrasa, as the slain youth repeatedly rejected an immoral proposal given by the murderer, RAB-3 Commanding Officer (CO) Imranul Hasan told The New Nation on Wednesday.
The alleged killer was also annoyed with Zidan for protesting the command of washing clothes, carrying foods and other chores of Abu Bakar, the elite force official said.
Abu Bakar confessed to the RAB that he took the final decision of murder as he complained to his teacher of latest severe assault just a day before of the murder, he said.
“He went to Barisal after murder. Then he returned to Dhaka and probably was planning to go somewhere else. We caught him with a knife when he entered the city in the morning,” the CO added.
The madrasa authorities also minimized some complains between the two students in arbitration meetings several times, the RAB official said.
Since the madrasa gate was locked at night, Bakar fled by breaking through a wooden structure in the tin-roof dormitory.
Zidan also came from Mymensingh district and had been living with Abu Bakar who hailed from Barisal, according to him. There are around 40 beds in a row on a rolled-out mat. Zidan, and Abu Bakar, who were once good friends, used to sleep one bed apart. Recently, their relationship deteriorated due to unknown reasons. But nobody thought this animosity could lead to murder, Madrasa sources said. Around 100 students of the institution, where they memorise the whole Quran, live in two adjacent halls in barrack-like arrangements, they said.
With a knife, Bakar quietly crawled to the bed of Zidan. He first gagged the boy with a piece of cloth and slit his throat. The 12-year-old was dead, according to them.
The boy who slept on a bed between Bakar and Zidan’s witnessed the killing, but he pretended to be asleep. He was fearful about his own life, fellow of Zidan said. “Abu Bakar committed the murder when everyone was in sleep,” said a resident of the room, quoting the boy who witnessed the incident.
After finishing the killing, “He dragged the body around 30 feet and dropped it into a septic tank,” he said.
Abu Bakar was the most senior student of the madrasa. He killed Zidan after they grew enmity over a “senior-junior issue” after Eid-ul-Adha this year, another sources said.
Abu Bakar used to dominate all other students as he was a senior and often quarrelled with Zidan over trivial matters. Madrasa teachers tried to end the antagonism several times.
“He [Bakar] brought a knife two to three weeks ago and used to intimidate others with it,” said another student.
“Our Yeasin huzur [teacher] seized the knife from him and took it to his room [a portion of the hall room separated by a curtain]. Bakar might have stolen the knife and killed Zidan as the teacher was on leave,” he said.
Mahmudul Haque, Officer-in-Charge of Paltan Police Station, said that Abu Bakar probably killed the boy as a teacher punished Bakar following a complaint by Zidan.
