Ru Prof Murder
Pressure on cops not to arrest Shibir leader
Anwar Ali and Abu Kalam, Rajshahi
Rajshahi University Islami Chhatra Shibir President Shalehi, one of the two suspected masterminds of Prof S Taher Ahmed murder, has managed to go into hiding as police delayed taking action against him apparently due to ruling alliance pressure.Meantime, Shibir yesterday staged a huge showdown on the campus and threatened to stall all activities and teach journalists "a proper lesson" if Shalehi was "disturbed". Sources said top ruling alliance leaders in Rajshahi including a lawmaker asked police to stop implicating a teacher and a Shibir leader in the killing. The leaders also asked police high-ups not to harass anyone that may tarnish the image of the ruling alliance, the sources added. All three suspected killers -- Jahangir, his brother Abdus Salam and their relative Nazmul -- in their confessional statements named Shalehi and Prof Taher's colleague Dr Mia Muhammad Mohiuddin as the masterminds of the killing. Police on February 7 arrested Mohiuddin but could not take action against Shalehi, also a master's student at geology and mining department, due to political pressures, sources said. The police employed forces to keep watch on Shalehi hours after Taher's body was found on February 3, but they were seen yesterday looking for his location. The Shibir leader was leading students' movement protesting the murder, but he was not seen anywhere on the campus yesterday. Shibir gathered over a thousand workers, mostly outsiders, on the campus and paraded in a procession and held a rally with Rokon Uddin, city unit general secretary, in the chair. Rokon termed Shalehi a "holy person", saying it is the media that published his name to tarnish Shibir's image. "Journalists are trying to turn the RU into a volatile campus publishing false reports." RU unit Shibir Secretary Noor Muhammad called upon newspersons to refrain from hatching conspiracy against Shalehi. "If they do otherwise, we know how to teach them," he threatened. Shibir leaders at a press conference at the RU Cafeteria claimed Shalehi was outside Rajshahi during the murder. They said Jahangir is the organising secretary of ward unit Jubo League and his statement was motivated. Asked how Jahangir, an SSC examinee, can be a leader of the Awami League's youth front, they said it is none of their concerns.
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