The murder of Abu Sayeed, a student at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, during the 2024 mass uprising was a deliberate extrajudicial killing by the police, according to a counter-forensic investigation jointly conducted by Drik Picture Library and Forensic Architecture, a London-based research agency.
During a public lecture titled 鈥楽ubverting State Narratives: Community Experts and Counter-Forensics鈥� at DrikPath Bhaban on Saturday, Jumanah Bawazir, an advanced researcher from Forensic Architecture in the UK, shared insights into the investigative processes behind their work.
In the lecture, she demonstrated how they reconstruct the murder incident using interviews, photogrammetry, heat maps, satellite imagery, and video evidence鈥攃hallenging state denial and exposing the deliberate use of lethal force by the police.
The investigation found that Abu Sayeed was shot three times by two policemen using a 12-bore shotgun, with ammunition matching birdshot pellets, an inappropriate munition for crowd control and unlawful under international human rights standards, from a distance of 14.22 meters on July 16, 2024.
The findings counter the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 claims that Sayeed was killed by rocks thrown by protesters, delayed medical response, or rubber bullets.
It also found that he was shot at 2:18pm and declared dead at 3:05pm upon arrival at a hospital, directly contradicting Hasina鈥檚 claim that he was taken to the hospital around four or five hours after the incident.
Jumanah demonstrated how Israel has been attempting to cover up its acts of genocide in Gaza and highlighted the similarities to actions taken by the ousted Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime during the July uprising.
鈥榃hat we鈥檝e seen in Bangladesh, we also see in Palestine: surveillance, violence from the revolution that escalated not from strength but from fear鈥攆ear of losing control, fear of truth, fear of the end they know is obviously coming,鈥櫬� she said.
During her lecture, she emphasized the importance of community-led investigations and forensic analysis in holding those in power accountable, especially in cases of political violence and state oppression.
The news of Abu Sayeed鈥檚 death spread rapidly, sparking further protests that ultimately led to the fall of the Hasina-led regime on August 5, 2024.
