Prof Taher Murder: DB seeks RU authorities' help to arrest Salehi

Staff Correspondent, Rajshahi

Detective Branch of Police (DB) yesterday sought cooperation from the Rajshahi University (RU) authorities to arrest RU Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) President Mahbubul Alam Salehi, the lone absconding suspected mastermind of the Prof S Taher Ahmed murder case.

A computer hard drive the suspects once used went missing from a RU lab.

The step came after Shalehi submitted a prayer to attend the masters' exams and the authority asked the Department of Geology and Mining to look into the matter.

Asanul Kabir, sub-inspector of Rajshahi DB, in a letter to RU registrar said primary investigation revealed Salehi's involvement in the Taher murder and the RU authority's assistance is needed to arrest him.

The letter requested RU administration to inform the police whenever Shalehi is seen on campus as the court has issued arrest warrant against him.

An office assistant of the department on May 23 took Salehi's form to the department chairman and told him two unidentified men gave him the form.

Shalehi went into hiding after he appeared in a public meeting on February 10, seven days after the murder, with top Jamaat-Shibir leaders who threatened police of chaos if Shalehi was arrested.

Academic committee of the department, puzzled after receiving the form, sought the RU authority's direction regarding Salehi's form.

Meanwhile, a computer hard disk once used by another suspected mastermind of the murder Prof Mia Muhammad Mohiuddin, now in police custody, went missing from the computer lab of the science building in RU.

Salehi's friend and Mohiuddin's thesis student Nazim Uddin also used the computer.

Police said Shalehi was involved in the murder to get Nazim a teacher's job at the university as he developed close relation with Mohiuddin through Nazim. ICS activist Nazim also went into hiding along with Shalehi.

Police recovered the body of Taher at a septic tank behind his house on February 3. The three arrested killers, Zahangir, Nazmul and Abdus Salam, confessed to murdering Taher and said Mohiuddin and Shalehi were the masterminds.