Oprotim killed during snatching of iPhone: cops

Police believe 13-year-old Ishiat Shahriar Oprotim was killed during an attempt to snatch an iPhone from him, while Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the government would assist in ensuring a speedy trial in the case.

“The court will conduct the trial, and we will assist in completing all legal formalities, including submission of the charge sheet,” the minister told reporters at the Secretariat yesterday.

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“We hope the judiciary will conclude the trial as quickly as it did in the Ramisa murder case,” he added.

The home minister said the death of the son of a Comilla University teacher had shocked the nation. He praised the police for arresting the suspects and recovering evidence within 12 hours of the incident.

According to police, the incident occurred between 5:00pm and 6:00pm on Friday in the Sananda area of Lalmai Hill when the suspects allegedly attempted to snatch an iPhone from Oprotim.

A scuffle reportedly broke out, during which the main suspect, Saiful Islam Tuhin, allegedly struck Oprotim on the head with a stick. Two other teenagers then allegedly joined in the assault.

Later, Tuhin took the phone and left the scene with the others, police said.

Police identified Tuhin from CCTV footage and detained him. During questioning, he allegedly confessed to the killing and implicated the other two arrested.

Asked whether the accused were linked to a teenage gang, Cumilla Superintendent of Police Anisuzzaman said investigators had found what he termed an “age-disparate friendship” between Oprotim and the suspects.

“None of the accused was Oprotim’s classmate,” he said, adding that they were either dropouts or irregular students at different educational institutions.

Four suspects have been arrested, and they are Saiful Islam Tuhin, 19; Md Siam, 19; and two 15-year-olds.

Excluding Siam, the other three arrestees have given confessional statements before Judicial Magistrate Court-6 in Cumilla.

Subsequently, all four were sent to jail. The two minors were placed in separate juvenile cells, confirmed court inspector Sadekur Rahman.

STUDENTS BLOCK HIGHWAY

Students of Comilla University yesterday blocked the Dhaka-Chattogram highway for nearly two hours, demanding justice for Oprotim.

After attending his first namaz-e-janaza on the university campus around 10:15am, students marched in a procession to Kotbari Bishwa Road, accompanying the ambulance carrying his body. They blocked the highway at around 11:00am.

Vehicular movement resumed around 1:00pm after the blockade was withdrawn, said Additional Superintendent of Police Md Kamruzzaman.

The protesters issued a four-point ultimatum, demanding the arrest of all those involved in the murder, completion of the trial within 60 days and execution of the death sentence upon conviction.

They also demanded the removal of the Cumilla superintendent of police and the officers-in-charge of Adarsha Sadar and Sadar South police stations, holding them responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation.

Other demands included establishing a permanent police outpost near the university and introducing visible measures to improve public safety, including an emergency response mechanism for missing persons.

“We want justice for Oprotim’s murder. We want the administration to improve law and order so that no one else suffers such a brutal fate,” said student Md Himel.

Later, senior police officials met the protesters on behalf of the district police administration.

“We have received the students’ demands and will forward them to the higher authorities,” said Kamruzzaman.

The students subsequently returned to campus, and highway traffic resumed.

Oprotim was laid to rest at the Kotbari-Gandhamati graveyard following two separate janazas. The second was held on the Gandhamati Eidgah ground at 11:00am.

Oprotim was the only child of Nahida Begum, an associate professor of Bangla at Comilla University, and businessman KM Firoz Shahriar. The family lives in the Kotbari-Gandhamati area. Oprotim was a Class VII student at Comilla Border Guard Public School.

Family members said Oprotim left home around 3:00pm on Friday, saying he was going out with friends to take photographs using his mother’s iPhone. When he did not return, relatives went looking for him. Failing to find him, his father lodged a general diary with Sadar Dakhhin Police Station later that day.

Around 1:00pm on Saturday, locals found Oprotim’s body in the Sananda area of Lalmai Hill, about 2.5 kilometres from Comilla University.