Ex-BCL leader Masud beaten to death in Rajshahi

Abdullah Al Masud, a former Chhatra League leader, was beaten to death by a local mob in Rajshahi on early Sunday.

He sustained severe injuries during the mob beating at the Vinodpur Bazar area near Rajshahi University (RU) campus late Saturday night. 

Masud was then handed over to the police. He died around 12:30am while undergoing treatment at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH), said SM Masud Parvez, officer-in-charge (OC) of Boalia police station.

"Masud was attacked following allegations of an assault on students and locals. A group of students then took him to Motihar police station. However, since there were no cases of violence on 5 August registered there, he was transferred to Boalia police station, possibly to be implicated in a case of violence," Parvez said.

The OC added, "Masud was severely injured in the mob beating. Considering his physical condition, he was taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) with the assistance of the military, where he succumbed to his injuries."

He said no case was filed over the incident so far, he added. The police will take legal actions if Masud's family lodges any complaint.

Abdullah Al Masud was a former deputy secretary and a former member of the central committee of the RU Chhatra League.

Last night's incident was not the first time he was attacked. 

A decade ago, on 29 April 2014, Masud was attacked near the Zia Hall of Rajshahi University, which resulted in the amputation of his right leg from the ankle and severe damage to his left leg. 

The veins in his hand were also cut during this attack, which was allegedly carried out by members of Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami.

At that time, Masud said in various media that the attack was carried out by activists of Shibir. In this incident, a case was filed in the city's Motihar police station, mentioning the names of the leaders and activists involved.

In the attack, Masud lost a leg and was using a prosthetic leg to move around. His other leg was broken during last night's attack. 

Lying in the Boalia police station lock-up, Masud said, "I had come to Vinodpur to get medicine. They caught me because I used to do the politics of Chhatra League. My leg was cut off back in 2014. All the veins were cut. I quit Chhatra League a long time back." 

When Masud was initially brought to the Boalia police station, Salahuddin Ammar, a key coordinator of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement at Rajshahi University, was present at the station. 

Some people brought Masud in an auto-rickshaw and laid him down on the floor of the police station.

Upon hearing news of Masud's death, Salahuddin said, "We were busy with the two people we had brought in. Amidst that, I saw someone being brought in injured, but I couldn't recognise the people who brought him."

In 2022, Masud wrote a letter to Sheikh Hasina, explaining his situation and requesting for a job.

On 6 December that year, the Prime Minister's Office wrote to the Vice Chancellor of RU requesting that Masud be appointed as a Section Officer at the university.

Following the directive, Masud was appointed as a Store Officer at the Rajshahi University Medical Center on 20 December 2022. Since then, he has been working in this position.

On 3 September this year, Masud became the father of a daughter. 

Just hours before getting beaten to death, Masud posted a picture of the newborn on Facebook.