‘If you Don’t Die, I Can’t Be with Mahir’ – Barsha Tells Jobayed While He Begs for Life

In the brutal murder of Jagannath University Chatra Dal leader Jobayed Hossain, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Lalbagh Division Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mallik Ahsan Uddin Sami revealed chilling details during a press briefing today. He said Jobayed was still alive after the initial attack and desperately tried to escape by climbing from the second floor to the third. There, he encountered the female student, Barsha, who was standing nearby. Spotting her, Jobayed pleaded, “Save me.” But Barsha coldly replied, “You don’t die, I can’t be with Mahir.” She then confirmed his impending death, leaving him without aid. Jobayed knocked on the door in a final bid for survival but received no help.

DC Mallik Ahsan shared these harrowing accounts at a press briefing held at the DMP Media Centre on Tuesday (21 October). He described the girl as “very cunning,” adding that she maintained relationships with both men simultaneously.

Police investigations indicate that the perpetrators purchased two new switchblades specifically for the murder. During the incident, Mahir stabbed Jobayed indiscriminately. The female student allegedly instructed her lover, Mahir, to carry out the killing. Preliminary probes have confirmed this as a premeditated murder.

Bangshal Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Rafiqul Islam stated that the girl and Mahir had a nine-year relationship. Midway, she developed feelings for Jobayed, dumped Mahir without informing him, and expressed her preference for Jobayed. However, days later, she told her boyfriend that she no longer liked Jobayed. It was then that the couple plotted his murder.

Earlier on Tuesday morning, OC Rafiqul Islam reiterated that this was a planned killing orchestrated by Barsha and Mahir. He noted the same sequence of events: their long relationship, her shift in affection towards Jobayed, the breakup with Mahir, and the subsequent murder conspiracy after she claimed disinterest in Jobayed.

The police officer further revealed that the student initially denied any involvement in planning Jobayed’s murder. However, when confronted face-to-face with Mahir, she confessed to the truth. The duo had been scheming how to eliminate Jobayed since 25 September.

Jobayed Hossain was a student in the 2019-20 session of the Statistics Department at Jagannath University. He served as president of the Cumilla District Students' Welfare Association and was a member of the university's Chatra Dal convening committee. So far, four individuals, including the female student, have been arrested in connection with the murder. Preparations for filing the case are underway. Jobayed was buried at his village home on Monday.

For the past year, he had been tutoring the student in physics, chemistry, and biology at Roushan Villa on Nurbox Lane in Armanitola, Old Dhaka. On Sunday (19 October) around 4:45 PM, he was stabbed to death on the staircase while heading to the third floor of her residence. Bloodstains trailed from the ground floor staircase up to the third floor.

Jobayed was found lying face down on the stairs. In the aftermath, students protested in front of Bangshal Police Station, setting fires and demanding swift arrests of the culprits. They also blockaded the Tatibazar intersection. Around 11:00 PM on Sunday, police took the female student into custody from her home on Nurbox Road in Armanitola. Extended questioning followed late into the night.