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| Murder of Biswajit Das | |
|---|---|
| Part of Violence of Bangladesh Chhatra League | |
| Location | Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| Coordinates | 23°48′15″N90°24′55″E / 23.80417°N 90.41528°E |
| Date | 9 December 2012; 12 years ago c. 09:00 am (UTC+6) |
| Victim | Biswajit Das |
| Litigation | See trial |
On 9 December 2012, Biswajit Das, a tailor from Dhaka, Bangladesh was murdered by members of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the Awami League. [1] That morning, the opposition 18 Party Alliance had called for a nationwide road blockade. As Das was on his way to his shop, located in Shankhari Bazaar in Old Dhaka, one or more small explosives detonated near an anti-blockade procession organized by BCL activists from Jagannath University. [2] [3] [4]
A group of them mistook Das for an opposition supporter and chased him from near Bahadur Shah Park into a nearby building. [3] They attacked him with machetes, iron bars, and hockey sticks. [2] Das attempted to escape, but fell down at Shankhari Bazar Road. A rickshaw-puller took Das to Mitford Hospital, where he shortly died of his wounds. [3]
The daytime murder was captured live on television and appalled the nation. [1] [2] Within days, Jagannath University expelled three students and cancelled the certificates of two others for alleged involvement in the murder. The following week, they expelled four more. [5]
By 25 December, seven suspects were in police custody. [6] An eighth man was arrested on 26 May 2013. The eight were among twenty-one indicted on 2 June for Das' murder. All were activists of the Jagannath University unit of the BCL. [2] Their trial started on 14 July. [7] All twenty-one were found guilty on 18 December 2013. Eight were sentenced to death and thirteen were sentenced to life in prison. Thirteen, including two of those sentenced to death, were convicted in absentia and, as of August 2017, have not been apprehended. [4] [8] [9]
In its 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the United States Department of State cites Das' murder as an example of political violence in connection with general strikes in Bangladesh. [10]