A student of Dhaka University has staged a solitary sit-in protest at the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) on campus, demanding swift justice for the horrific murder of a retired schoolteacher and three members of his family in Rangpur. Joy Biswas, a resident student of Jagannath Hall, initiated his demonstration on Wednesday evening, 26 August, to highlight the tragic killings alongside what he described as a broader deterioration of law and order across Bangladesh.
The protest follows the shocking discovery on the night of 22 August in the Daspara-Machhuapara neighbourhood of Rangpur city. Police recovered the bodies of retired teacher Ganapati Chakraborty, 65, his wife Preetilata Chakraborty, 52, their 25-year-old daughter Agami Chakraborty, and 12-year-old son Ayush Chakraborty from their residential home. Autopsy and preliminary investigative reports confirmed that all four victims were killed by strangulation.
Law enforcement agencies have made progress in the criminal investigation, with detectives arresting two primary suspects, Mugdha Das and Siddhartha Das. Both individuals have recorded formal statements before a judicial magistrate. Investigators confirmed that a third associate, Seemanta Das, has also provided a judicial confession regarding the incident. The homicide case is currently under active investigation by the Detective Branch (DB) of the Rangpur Metropolitan Police.
Despite these arrests, surviving relatives of the Chakraborty family have voiced serious doubts regarding the thoroughness and scope of the police inquiry. Family members contend that it is highly improbable for only two individuals to single-handedly execute the murder of four people inside a home without wider assistance. They have publicly called for a comprehensive investigation into several unresolved anomalies, including the sudden disconnection of the home’s electrical supply immediately prior to the crime and the preservation of crucial physical evidence at the scene.
Reflecting these growing concerns, Joy Biswas took to social media during his four-hour demonstration to call upon citizens, political groups, and student organisations to unite behind his platform regardless of political affiliation. His protest is anchored upon a three-point charter of demands addressed directly to the government.
First, Biswas demands that the Home Minister issue an explicit public apology for the prevailing breakdown of law and order, while taking immediate, visible steps to bolster public security across the country. Second, he calls for the swift trial and exemplary punishment of every individual involved in the brutal slaughter of the Chakraborty family in Rangpur. Third, his petition urges the government to present a concrete, transparent security blueprint to the public to guarantee the safety of minority communities and ordinary citizens alike.
Speaking from the protest site at TSC, Biswas reiterated that his stand transcends party lines, urging the university community and the wider public to join hands against impunity and rising violent crime.
