Murder of Abrar Fahad

Abrar Fahad (February 12, 1998 – October 7, 2019) was a second-year student in the Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) department at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). He was brutally tortured and killed inside BUET's Sher-e-Bangla Hall by leaders associated with BUET's Chhatra League, a student political organization. The incident sparked national outrage and led to protests against campus violence. Abrar's murderers were later sentenced to death following a highly publicized trial. An autopsy report later confirmed that Fahad died as a result of severe blunt force trauma.

Early life and education
Abrar Fahad was born on February 12, 1998, in Kushtia, Bangladesh. He excelled academically at Notre Dame College in Dhaka, ranking among the top 20 students from the Dhaka Board in Higher Secondary School Certificate Examination. He began his studies at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) on March 31, 2018..

At the time of his death, Fahad was a second-year (Term 1) student of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Death
On Sunday night, October 6, 2019, at around 8 pm, third-year students summoned Fahad and other second-year students to room 2011 of Sher-e-Bangla Hall, as reported by Ashikul Islam Bitu, a second-year Chemical Engineering student and assistant secretary of BUET Chhatra League. Anick Sarker, the information and research affairs secretary of BUET Chhatra League and a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering student, along with Amit Shaha, the deputy law affairs secretary of the same unit, led the attack and severely assaulted Abrar. Police discovered Abrar's body at around 3 am on Monday on the ground floor of Sher-e-Bangla Hall. He was pronounced dead by BUET Medical Officer Dr. Md Mashuk Elahi. Footage from a closed-circuit camera on the second floor of the residential hall showed several individuals dragging Abrar down the corridor by his hands and feet.

Facebook involvement
He was killed for his views condemning the recent India-Bangladesh accord (September - October 2019).

Aftermath
Students at universities across the country, including BUET and Dhaka University, staged demonstrations on their campuses, demanding severe punishment for the perpetrators responsible for Abrar Fahad's death.

At Dhaka University, students gathered for a protest rally at the anti-terrorism Raju sculpture.

At Jahangirnagar University, teachers and students both formed a human chain on campus, demanding capital punishment of the Abrar's killers.

At Khulna University, students formed a human chain at the main gate of the university, blocked highways in front of their campus and tied their faces with black badges to protest Abrar's murder At Rajshahi University, students protested by blocking the Rajshahi-Dhaka highway for half an hour.

At Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, students formed a human chain in front of main gate of the campus in Sylhet. The students later brought out a protest rally which paraded Sylhet-Sunamganj highway.

At Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, students formed a human chain at the campus' main gate in Sylhet and later organized a protest rally along the Sylhet-Sunamganj highway.

The BUET authorities banned all political activities on the campus and temporarily suspended 19 students, mostly leaders of the university's BCL unit, accused in Abrar Fahad killing case.

In 2024, renewed attempt by BCL to enter politics into BUET has been met with strong university wide opposition in the form of protests and boycott of academic processes.

International response
UN, UK, Germany, France & US have strongly condemned the brutal murder of Abrar Fahad.

Trial
Eighteen members of the BUET Chhatra League have been detained in connection with the murder.

On 8 December 2021, a Bangladesh court sentenced 20 university students to death and five more to life imprisonment for killing Fahad.