Police File Charge Sheet Against Four in Opritom Murder Case

Bangla Press Desk: Police have formally submitted a charge sheet to the court in the murder case of 13-year-old Ishayat Shahriar Opritom, the only child of Dr Nahida Begum, an associate professor in the Department of Bangla at Cumilla University.

Cumilla Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration and Finance) Lutfor Rahman confirmed the development to the media on Friday morning (October 23). He said the investigating officer submitted the charge sheet to the court on October 20.

The investigation report details the circumstances of the killing. According to the charge sheet, the murder was committed to steal Opritom’s mobile phone. When the teenager resisted the robbery attempt, the accused repeatedly struck him on the head with bamboo sticks.

Opritom died at the scene. Police have accused Saiful Islam Tuhin, Mozzaffar Hossain Fahad and Kamrul Hasan of direct involvement in the murder. Another young man, identified as Siam, has been named in the charge sheet as the alleged planner of the crime.

According to the police investigation, on the afternoon of September 18, accused Tuhin took Opritom to a secluded hilly forest in the Sananda area near Lalmai Hills under false pretences. There, Tuhin attempted to forcibly take the teenager’s expensive mobile phone.

When Opritom strongly resisted, a struggle broke out. Tuhin initially attacked him, followed by Fahad and Kamrul, who also arrived and struck him forcefully on the head with bamboo sticks. After ensuring that Opritom was dead, they took his phone and fled the scene.

Police launched an investigation after Opritom’s body was recovered. By closely examining CCTV footage from the surrounding area, investigators initially identified Tuhin, who had been with Opritom. After taking him into custody and questioning him extensively, police arrested Fahad and Kamrul based on information obtained from Tuhin’s confession. Police later conducted a special operation at Tuhin’s residence and recovered the mobile phone used by the victim.

Opritom was a talented seventh-grade student at Border Guard Public School in Cumilla. His father, K M Firoz Shahriar, is a mobile phone trader. Devastated by the loss of his only child, he said all their hopes and dreams had revolved around their son, which the perpetrators had taken away forever.

Expressing concern over possible legal loopholes related to the accused persons’ ages, he urged the court to ensure that they do not escape punishment. He called for the speedy trial of the accused and the imposition of the maximum punishment allowed by law.

BP/SP