Fardeen's death is as mystifying as the lack of success of the investigating agencies in finding out the facts around it. Our police are actually extremely competent and have repeated success after success in solving many cases. Here police knows everyone, knows who is doing what and finally, easy to pick up the criminals after a few rounds of questioning the suspects, break the case.

Yet in a highly publicized murder case like that of Fardeen, the authorities keep drawing blanks and misleading arrests are made. It's just too odd not to arouse suspicion. Worse, this is not the first time such confusions have arisen. And now many fear that like several other cases, this will soon be lost under the wave of other crimes and the crime will remain uncovered for long if not longer.

Who is Fardeen?

A student of BUET, he was a high achieving young man who was also a debater who had gained laurels at home and abroad. He was in fact supposed to go to Spain soon for a debate event when he was found missing and then his battered dead body was found. Till date no one seems to have found out why. Worse, misinformation about the circumstances of his death is reaching media and the public. And in the process Faredeen is being demonized as a druggie who sort of deserved to die for his shady life.

Drugs are more common than one thinks or even can think in Bangladesh and many young people in particular are into drugs. That is not the point. It's whether Fardeen is a druggie or not and if such drug hassles led to his death. However that question was not answered by the police after initial hints. When hinted, there were howls of protest from many who said that F ardeen never even smoked let alone touch drugs.

His own family and friends have come forward saying that Fardeen didn't belong to that crowd. On social media this issue has come up several times and none have said that he was into drugs. It did seem the police were in a hurry to prove that it was a drug related issue but has come up against a public which is now questioning their credibility.

Where was he?

From his mobile phone and various CCTV footage, it appears he was with his friend Bushra up to a point at night, dropped her off and then went about and was not seen again. When he didn't return home, the police were informed and later his dead body was recovered from the river Sitalakhya. And it's from here that the mystery began to grow. The injuries on his body were obvious and this meant a violent death. Soon, the story began to make appearances in some media that he was a druggie and was killed by drug dealers with whom he had a fight. This was initially promoted by the police and later RAB got into the act. Hints were that Fardeen's killer could be one City Shaheen who had died in an "encounter". Later RAB denied that there was an encounter but he was killed by other drug criminals. Encounter is a no-no since the sanctions came. Police insists Fardeen was killed in Dhaka but didn't elaborate claiming investigations are on.

Why such killings, arrests and explanations?

The arrest of Fardeen's alleged GF and then subsequent release first sparked off suspicions. She was taken in for questions and then released and then taken in again and now will have to stay in. Explanations came one after another and finally at the press conference the police appeared not too confident. The drug gang theory was by then discredited and no new explanation given. Meanwhile social media began to provide some lead which the police seem not too keen to follow and that is the political angle.

It appears that Fardeen was against the return of politics to BUET which had been imposed after the Abrar killing. And like most students was against it. He had already earned the ire of government party students and reportedly had faced threats. After all, if he was not involved in drugs, women or other crimes, could that not be the reason given the past history of political violence?

That doesn't mean it's the actual cause but that it needs investigation. The police have never mentioned this cause once. So Fardeen's death is threatening to become one of the many unresolved murder mysteries of our time.

By allowing time to lapse, the sting of any crime lessens and another crime will come that will overtake public interest. This has happened before and the Sagor-Runi or Toki murder cases are two examples. So one fears this case is also going that way. To state any pious hope that justice is always done would be as hazy as the explanations being offered by the police on the crime itself.