Traffic grunted to a halt on the busy Dhaka-Chittagong highway on Sunday morning as hundreds of Comilla University students mounted a fierce road blockade. They were demanding swift justice and the immediate arrest of all those responsible for the murder of 13-year-old Ishayat Shahriar Apratim, the son of Dr Nahida Begum, an associate professor in the university’s Bangla department.
The demonstration kicked off around 11:30 AM at the Nandanpur intersection in the Kotbari area. Sitting across both lanes of the critical transport artery, students chanted slogans condemning the killing and demanding urgent steps to curb the deteriorating law and order situation in the region. The protest caused massive tailbacks, leaving passengers and transport workers stranded for miles under the hot sun. After nearly an hour and a half, student leaders lifted the blockade at 12:50 PM, issuing a strict 24-hour ultimatum to authorities to bring all perpetrators to book.
Trouble had been brewing since Friday afternoon when Apratim, a seventh-grade pupil at Border Guard Public School, left home carrying his mother’s iPhone to take photos with friends. He never returned. His frantic family notified local police, initiating a joint search operation involving officers, university teachers, and students across various neighbourhoods.
Nearly 22 hours after his disappearance, police located Apratim’s body on Saturday afternoon in a secluded patch of the Lalmai Hills, near the university campus. The discovery sent shockwaves through the community. Reviewing nearby CCTV footage, investigators identified three suspects—Tuhin, Anas, and Fahim—and took them into custody. Police subsequently recovered the victim’s missing iPhone from Tuhin’s residence. Late on Saturday night, around 12:30 AM, the boy’s father, K. M. Firoz Shahriar, filed a murder case at the Comilla Sadar South Model Police Station.
Sunday began on a solemn note as Apratim’s first funeral prayer was held at 10:00 AM on the Comilla University central playground. Following the service, grief-stricken students formed a massive procession heading towards Kotbari, which eventually spilled over onto the national highway.
Protesting students voiced deep dissatisfaction over how local authorities have handled information surrounding the case. Farha Khanam, a student from the Bangla department’s 2021–22 session, emphasized that their movement was driven by both the demand for justice for Apratim and wider safety concerns in Comilla. Meanwhile, Anjan Roy, a student from the 2020–21 session, demanded immediate transparency. Officials should not hide behind closed doors in air-conditioned rooms issuing press releases, he insisted, but must stand directly before the student body on the ground and present clear facts.
Comilla University Proctor Abdul Hakim stated that law enforcement agencies acted promptly after the body was retrieved, apprehending suspects and securing key physical evidence. He confirmed that students agreed to clear the highway only after setting their 24-hour deadline.
The tragic death has ignited widespread outrage across the campus. Alongside the student blockades, university officers and staff held a separate human chain demonstration on Sunday, demanding maximum punishment for those implicated. Following a second funeral prayer at the Gandhamati Eidgah ground in Kotbari, the teenager was laid to rest in his family’s local cemetery. All eyes now turn to law enforcement as the 24-hour window ticks down, with the university community awaiting a clear breakdown of the motive behind this horrific crime.
