Jagannath University (JnU) has suspended all events marking University Day on October 22 and declared two days of mourning following the killing of student and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) leader Zobayed Hossain.

The decisions were taken at a virtual meeting on Monday (October 20) with university administrators, faculty, student leaders and journalists. Mourning will be observed on October 21–22. 

All examinations are suspended during this period, though classes will continue.

According to the plan, a memorial meeting will be held on the first day, followed by a campus-wide mourning rally on the second. 

The administration said a new date for University Day celebrations will be announced later.

Teachers’ Association General Secretary Prof Md Rois Uddin said the university community demands justice: “Our students are like our children. Zobayed was brutally killed. We will engage with Chhatra Dal leaders and take initiatives from the administration. We want justice—without it, we will not relent.”

Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Rezaul Karim said the university is “deeply saddened” and that festivities will remain suspended—“decorations may stay, but the lights will remain off”—until there is a fair investigation and justice for Zobayed.

Zobayed Hossain, a member of JNU JCD’s convening committee and a student in the Department of Statistics, was stabbed to death around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday (October 19) on the stairs of a residence in Old Dhaka’s Armanitola. He had been tutoring a 12th-grade student, Barsha Akter, at the building on Noor Box Road.

Police have taken the student into custody. Investigators suspect the involvement of Barsha’s alleged boyfriend and believe two assailants were involved. Efforts are under way to identify and arrest the perpetrators.

SMS/