Sust student killed: Sole witness under ‘suspicion’

A female student of the Bangla Department of Shahjalal University of Science & Technology (Sust) has come under suspicion over the killing of a student of the same university, police officials have said.

She was with the victim Bulbul Ahmed when he was stabbed to death on Ghazikalur hill near the campus by unidentified people on Monday evening.

Soon after the incident, the girl fell sick and was admitted to nearby Mount Adora Hospital by university authorities on Monday night, where police questioned her as the sole witness to the killing. However, on Tuesday afternoon, she left the hospital without informing authorities, raising suspicion from the police.

"We questioned her at the hospital in the morning [on Tuesday]. Her speech seemed suspicious. She seemed to be hiding something. However, we could not question her for long as she was sick," said Nazmul Huda Khan, officer-in-charge of Jalalabad Police Station.

In the meantime, other students at the university claimed she was involved in a romantic relationship with the deceased.

Currently, the girl was being held at the proctor's office.

Sylhet Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (South) Azbahar Ali Sheikh said, "She is now on campus. She is being held in the proctor's office under their [university administration] custody."

She told the authorities that she had left the hospital out of fear.

Meanwhile, police have arrested three suspects over the killing of Bulbul, a third-year student at the Public Administration Department, Sust.  

Earlier, local media reports claimed he was stabbed by muggers but Azbahar Ali Sheikh said, "Nothing is clear as of yet. We are looking for the mobile phone of the killed student.'

Sust authorities have formed a five-member committee to investigate the incident with Professor Akhtarul Islam, president of the Sust Teachers' Association, at the head.

The university's registrar Muhammad Ishfaqul Haque filed a case with the Jalalabad police station on Monday midnight over the incident.