Police seek ex-BRUR VC Kalimullah’s arrest in July attempt to murder case; hearing tomorrow
He had secured bail in another case and was set to be released.
Police have moved a Dhaka court to show Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, the former vice-chancellor of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur (BRUR), arrested in a case filed over an alleged attempt to murder incident during the 2024 July Uprising.
The case was filed at Uttara West Police Station in Dhaka over the attempt to murder Mustain Billah Sabbir, who took part in the Student Against Discrimination movement, which later turned into a mass uprising, in July-August 2024.
Confirming the development today (29 July), Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Prosecution Division Sub-Inspector Helal Uddin said the case investigation officer and Uttara West Sub-Inspector Md Abu Sayeed submitted the application on 28 July, seeking to include Kalimullah as an arrested accused in the case.
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Dhaka's Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Md Zakir Hossain heard the plea and fixed tomorrow (30 July) for hearing the application.
According to the application, investigators have found sufficient evidence linking Kalimullah to the incident. He needs to be shown arrested and kept in custody in this case until they can complete a fair and impartial investigation.
The Detective Branch of police arrested Kalimullah from his Mohammadpur residence on 7 August 2025. A court rejected his bail plea the same day and sent him to jail, where he remains in custody.
According to the case details, during the movement in 2024, on the afternoon of 19 July, Sabbir was at Rabindra Sarani Road under Uttara West Police Station with other protesters when armed assailants arrived and opened fire on them. A bullet hit Sabbir's left elbow, causing serious injuries. Several others also suffered gunshot wounds.
Sabbir was rushed to Uttara High Care General Hospital at first and then transferred to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (Nitor) for better treatment. Sabbir later filed the case at Uttara West Police Station.
Meanwhile, two days ago, on 27 July, Kalimullah's bail bond was submitted in a separate case over alleged embezzlement of funds allocated for development work at BRUR. The court allowed the bail after he deposited his passport and provided a Tk1 lakh bond.
His lawyers Mohsin Reza and Mahima Badhon said Kalimullah received bail from the High Court on 14 June. They said there were no other cases preventing his release from jail after submitting the bail bond.
However, the police are now seeking to keep him in custody in another case.
