Seven years have passed since the brutal killing of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) student Abrar Fahad. He was allegedly tortured by leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League at Sher-e-Bangla Hall on the night of October 6, 2019, and died in the early hours of the following day.Although a court sentenced the accused to death in the murder case, the verdict has yet to be fully implemented. Abrar’s family continues to express frustration over the failure to arrest the fugitives and carry out the death sentences.Today marks the seventh death anniversary of Abrar Fahad. On the occasion, grief has once again returned to his family home on PTI Road in Kushtia. The room from which Abrar left for Dhaka after bidding farewell to his mother still contains his laptop, mobile phone, books, notebooks, study table and other personal belongings. What is missing is the young man who once filled the house with his presence.On October 6, 2019, before boarding a bus from Kushtia for Dhaka, Abrar’s mother, Rokeya Khatun, fed her son with her own hands. It was the last time she saw him alive. The news of his death the following morning left the family devastated, and the pain has remained even after seven years.Abrar’s 105-year-old grandfather, Abdul Gafur, also wants to see justice completed for his grandson. At this stage of his life, his only wish is to live long enough to witness the execution of the sentences handed down against those responsible for Abrar’s death.Family sources said Abrar’s mother, Rokeya Khatun, is currently suffering from physical illness and lives in Dhaka with her younger son, Abrar Faiaz. Following his elder brother’s death, Faiaz was also admitted to BUET. He is now a second-year student in the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. By studying at the same institution, he is carrying forward the memory of his brother and the dreams Abrar left unfinished.Abrar’s personal belongings have been carefully preserved at the family home in Kushtia. His laptop and mobile phone, study table, books, notebooks and other items remain important reminders of him. For his parents, these belongings have become precious links to the son they lost.Meanwhile, local residents, including Sultan Maruf Talha, adviser to the Shaheed Abrar Fahad Memorial Library established in the area, have called for the immediate arrest of the fugitives and implementation of the court’s verdict.The 2019 murder sparked widespread outrage and protests across the country. Despite the court’s death sentences, the continued absence of several fugitives and the failure to execute the verdict have left Abrar’s family feeling that the justice process remains incomplete even after seven years.Every year, Abrar’s death anniversary brings back memories of his final moments with his family. His mother remembers feeding him for the last time, his final conversations with his father and the sight of him leaving for Dhaka by bus. The family now hopes that the fugitives will be arrested soon and that the sentences handed down by the court will finally be carried out, bringing the long-awaited justice for Abrar’s murder to completion.Speaking to BSS, Abrar’s father, Barkat Ullah, said the family had spent seven long years waiting for the full implementation of justice for their son’s killing. He said the fugitives had still not been arrested and the death sentences had not been carried out despite the passage of so much time. He added that while the family wants to see the vision of a discrimination-free Bangladesh for which Abrar lost his life become a reality, they also want the sentences against those convicted of his murder to be executed without further delay.
17 July 2026
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