A former leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of Bangladesh Awami League, was lynched by a mob on 7 September night in Rajshahi. The 35-year-old victim Abdullah Al Masud was a former assistant secretary of BCL’s Rajshahi University unit and had a physical disability due to an attack in 2014.
Police said that about 100 to 150 furious people captured Abdullah Al Masud and beat him up in Binodpur area adjacent to the Rajshahi University last night. They accused him of carrying out attacks on protesting students on 5th August. They then took him to the police station and held a demonstration demanding his trial.
First, he was taken to Matihar police station, but as there was no case registered at that police station regarding g the 5 August violence, he was transferred to Boalia police station so that he could be shown arrested in a case related to violence.
Police sent Abdullah Al Masud to hospital but he could not be saved. “We rescued him with the help of the army personnel and sent him to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital where he died of his injuries around 12:30am,” said SM Masud Pervez, officer-in-charge of Boalia Model Police Station.\
The OC said that Masud sustained severe injuries from the mob beating. He added that they would take legal action in this connection if the victim’s family lodges any written complaint.
ছেলেটা ১২ ঘন্টা আগে স্ট্যাটাস দিয়েছিলো গত ৩ তারিখ সে বাবা হয়েছে। রাজশাহী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে ছাত্রলীগ করতো। ছাত্রলীগ নেতা আব্দুল্লাহ আল মাসুদ।২০১৪ সালে শিবিরের হামলা করে তার পা কেটে নিয়েছিলো। তার একটি পা নেই। হাসপাতালে ঔষধ কিনতে গেলে সেই ছেলেটিকেও আজ পিটিয়ে হত্যা করা হলো।… pic.twitter.com/Mijf4KrcRL
— shayera (@k_shayera) September 8, 2024
Rajshahi Medical College Hospital’s spokesperson Shankar Kumar Biswas confirmed Masud’s death and stated that the exact cause of death will be determined following an autopsy.
Before being taken to the hospital, an injured Masud told journalists at the police station that he was attacked when he went to the Binodpur area to buy medicine. He became a father of a baby girl on September 3. He said that he was attacked for his past association with Chhatra League, even though he left politics long ago.
“They caught and beat me as I was involved with Chhatra League once. My right leg was severed and tendons of both hands and legs were cut in 2014. I left politics a long time ago,” he added.
In April 2014, unidentified criminals severed his right leg and cut tendons of his other leg and hand on Rajshahi University campus, Daily Star reported. At that time, Chhatra League leaders had blamed activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, for the attack.
Masud was employed as store officer at Rajshahi University medical centre with the rank of section officer.