Disturbingly, police sources say that local leaders and activists of Jubo Dal, BNP’s youth wing, were involved in the killing. Many murders have occurred with political instigation during the reign of the autocratic Awami League government. Bangladesh Chhatra League thugs hacked to death tailor Biswajit Das during an opposition strike at the same Old Dhaka area. Later, BUET student Abrar Fahad was brutally killed by the same group. But the fact that the situation hasn’t improved even after the mass uprising of 2024 is evident from recent killings. Just last Friday, a dismissed Jubo Dal leader was shot and his tendons cut in Khulna’s Daulatpur.

According to police headquarters statistics, 136 people were murdered in Dhaka alone from January to April this year. Nationwide, the number exceeded 1,200. In contrast, during the same period, the murder count in Dhaka was 55 in 2021, 54 in 2022, 51 in 2023, and 47 in 2024.

There have been protests in various universities and neighborhoods against Sohag’s murder. Law enforcement has arrested five suspects. Home Affairs Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury claimed the arrests as a government success. Law Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul has called for their prosecution in a speedy trial tribunal.