Oprotim killed over iPhone after being struck with bamboo stick, 4 arrested: Police

Cumilla district police have claimed to have uncovered the circumstances surrounding the killing of the 13-year-old son of a Comilla University teacher, with four people arrested in connection with the murder.

The initial investigation suggests that Oprotim may have been killed over his iPhone, police said, adding that an intensive investigation is underway to determine whether there was any other motive behind the killing.

Cumilla Police Superintendent Md Anisuzzaman disclosed the information at a press conference on Sunday.

The arrested are Saiful Islam Tuhin, 19, Mojammel Hossain Fahad, 16, Kamrul Hasan, 15, and Md Siyam, 19.

Anisuzzaman said Tuhin took Ishayat Shahriar Oprotim, the teenage son of university teacher Dr Nahida Begum, to a secluded forested area in Sanonda, near Lalmai Hill, at around 3:15pm on Friday.

Tuhin told police that he had taken Oprotim there to snatch his mobile phone, the police superintendent said.

According to police, Fahad and Kamrul were also involved in the incident. Police said they recovered Oprotim’s iPhone from Tuhin’s home.

Police said a scuffle broke out when the suspects tried to snatch the phone from Oprotim. At one point, Tuhin struck Oprotim on the head with a bamboo stick, while Fahad and Kamrul also struck him, police said.

The suspects then fled the scene with the phone, leaving Oprotim behind, police said. He later succumbed to his injuries.

Police said they are also investigating Siyam’s alleged involvement in the murder.

Oprotim laid to rest, CoU students block Dhk-Ctg highway

Earlier on Sunday, students of Comilla University (CoU) blocked the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway in Cumilla, demanding justice for Oprotim’s murder.

During the protest, they chanted slogans demanding a speedy trial in the case and exemplary punishment for those responsible.

Oprotim’s first janaza was held at the CoU central playground around 10am on Sunday. His second janaza was held at Gandhamati in Cumilla at 11am, after which he was laid to rest there.

Before the burial, Oprotim’s father, KM Firoz Shahriar, said he wanted to see justice for the killing of his son.

“My innocent 13-year-old boy had committed no crime. Why, then, did he have to lose his life like this? At this moment, I only want the perpetrators to face the harshest punishment,” he said.

Oprotim’s body was recovered from a hillock behind Magic Paradise Park on Saturday, around 22 hours after he went missing.

He had left home around 3:30pm on Friday, telling his mother that he was going to Shalban Vihara with friends to take photographs. He was carrying his mother’s iPhone at the time, Nahida said in a Facebook post on Friday.