College student dies after hurled into lift shaft

A college student was killed after he was allegedly beaten and thrown into a lift shaft from the eighth floor of a building in Chattogram.

The incident, which took place at an under-construction building in the Mousumi Residential Area on DC Road on April 12, came to light on Wednesday night after police arrested four suspects in connection with the killing.

The deceased was identified as Ashfaq Kabir Sazid, 17, from Cox’s Bazar. He was a student of BAF Shaheen College in Chattogram and lived alone in a flat on DC Road in Bakalia, according to his father, Abul Hasem.

Hasem filed a case with Chawkbazar Police Station on April 13.

According to the case statement, Ashfaq was called by one of his friends, Fardin Hasan, on April 12 and asked to come to the Mousumi Residential Area intersection. When he arrived, Ayman, Anik, Rana, Michael, Eliash, Enayet Ullah, and Miskatul Kayes, along with others, allegedly held him at knifepoint and took him to a deserted place.

The statement said that, in an attempt to save himself, the victim ran and took shelter inside the under-construction building, locking the gate. The attackers chased him, and the building’s security guard, Enamul Haque, later opened the lock as the assailants tagged Ashfaq as a thief. They then went upstairs and began beating him.

At one point, the college student was pushed from the eighth floor into the lift shaft, leaving him critically injured. He was pronounced dead after being taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, according to the case statement.

Sources at Chawkbazar Police Station said the killing may have been linked to a rivalry between juvenile gangs.

They said the incident might have stemmed from a dispute over a mobile phone theft, although it remains unclear whether the victim was involved in any gang.

Chawkbazar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Babul Azad said police have collected CCTV footage and are trying to arrest the remaining suspects.

“The motive is still unclear, but we are investigating,” he added.

The victim’s father said, “My son was not involved in politics. We sent him to Chattogram for better education, but now he is dead. I want justice.”