What forensic and satellite imagery say about Abu Sayed’s death

In two videos verified by Amnesty International, at least two police officers discharged 12-gauge shotguns directly towards Abu Sayed from across the street, said the global rights body.

"Sayed clutches his chest on impact as officers fire at least two more times," it said on 17 July, a day after he was killed.

Amnesty International used satellite imagery to geo-locate the positions of Sayed and the police officers and found that they were at a distance of about 15 metres during the shooting.

Derrick Pounder, an independent forensic pathologist who examined photos of the wounds to Sayed's chest, told Amnesty International that the wounds are consistent with birdshot.

"This was a seemingly intentional, unprovoked attack on an individual posing no threat to police officers, using ammunition designed for hunting which is extremely dangerous and unlawful for use in the policing of protests," said Taqbir Huda, regional researcher for South Asia of the Amnesty International.

The videos capturing moments when Sayed was shot at were widely shown by television channels of the country and verified by the London-based Amnesty International.

The first information report (FIR) on his death on 16 July in front of Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, however, says otherwise.

The FIR filed with the Tajhat police station reported that protesters, fired upon by weapons, threw brickbats from various directions; at one point, a student was seen falling to the ground.

Classmates of the fallen student Sayed took him to Rangpur Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead, said the FIR filed by sub-inspector Bibhuti Bhushan Roy, in charge of the police camp at the Begum Rokeya University.