Apratim Beaten to Death with Bamboo Sticks for Resisting Phone Snatching, Chargesheet Filed in Court
Police have filed a chargesheet in court in the murder case of Ishayat Shahriar Apratim (13), the only child of Dr Nahida Begum, an associate professor in the Bangla department of Comilla University. The chargesheet, submitted on October 20, alleges Apratim was beaten to death with bamboo sticks after he resisted an attempt to snatch his mobile phone.
The chargesheet names Saiful Islam Tuhin, Mozaffar Hossain Fahad and Kamrul Hasan as directly involved in the killing. The investigation also found information linking Siam to the planning of the murder.
Additional Superintendent of Police Lutfar Rahman confirmed the matter on Thursday morning. According to him, police submitted the chargesheet to court after completing the investigation.
The police investigation found that on the afternoon of September 18, Tuhin took Apratim to a secluded forested area in Sananda near the Lalmai hills. There, when an attempt was made to snatch Apratim's mobile phone, he resisted.
During the ensuing scuffle, Tuhin first, and then Fahad and Kamrul, struck Apratim on the head with bamboo sticks. The chargesheet states that this caused his death.
Sources linked to the investigation said that after Apratim's body was recovered, police reviewed CCTV footage from the surrounding area and identified Tuhin, who had been with him. Tuhin was then taken into custody and interrogated.
Based on information given by Tuhin, Fahad and Kamrul were detained. A raid on Tuhin's home also recovered the mobile phone used by Apratim, according to the investigation.
According to police, after confirming Apratim's death, Tuhin, Fahad and Kamrul fled the scene with his mobile phone.
Apratim was a Class Seven student at Border Guard Public School in Cumilla. He was the only child of Dr Nahida Begum and mobile phone trader K M Firoz Shahriar.
Regarding the filing of the chargesheet, Apratim's father K M Firoz Shahriar said the investigating officer phoned him at around 12:30 at night to inform him that the chargesheet had been submitted to court.
He said his dreams of living revolved around his son, and the killers had snatched that dream away. He demanded a swift trial and said he hoped the court would hand down the maximum punishment to the killers without delay.
The father also expressed concern that the accused should not be able to escape by exploiting any loophole related to age. With these demands and concerns, the family is now looking toward the court's trial proceedings.
With the submission of the chargesheet, the case has moved forward to the trial stage. The framing of charges and the recording of testimony in the court's next proceedings will now determine the course of the case.
