Abrar Fahad (12 February 1998 – 7 October 2019) was a

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...

university student who died following a severe

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

by members of

Bangladesh Chhatra League Bangladesh Chhatra League, simply Chhatra League (), is the student wing of the political party, Bangladesh Awami League, founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 4 January 1948. The organisation is banned and listed as a terrorist organisation in B ...

, the student wing of the

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

party. The assault was allegedly motivated by a Facebook post in which he criticized

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

’s state visit to India. Fahad was a second-year student in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology () commonly known by its acronym BUET, is a public technological research university in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. Founded in 1876 as the Dacca Survey School and gaining univer ...

(BUET). In 2019, after posting a critical status on

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about several agreements signed during Sheikh Hasina's visit to India, a group of leaders from the BUET unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League brutally beat him to death. The autopsy report confirmed that Abrar Fahad was beaten to death with blunt objects. In 2025, he was posthumously awarded the

Independence Award The Independence Award (), formally known as the Independence Day Award or Swadhinata Padak (), is the highest state award given by the government of Bangladesh. Introduced in 1977 by President Ziaur Rahman, this award is bestowed upon Banglades ...

, Bangladesh's highest state award given by the

government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

. On March 11, 2025, the Shaheed Abrar Fahad Stadium was inaugurated in Kushtia, Bangladesh, honoring the late BUET student Abrar Fahad.

Personal life

Abrar Fahad was born on February 12, 1998, in

Kushtia District Kushtia District (; ) is a district in the Khulna Division, Khulna administrative division of western Bangladesh. Kushtia is the second largest municipality in Bangladesh and the eleventh largest city in the country. Kushtia has existed as a sepa ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. His ancestral home was in Kumarkhali Upazila. His father, Md. Barkat Ullah, orked as an auditor at BRAC, and his mother, Rokeya Khatun, was a kindergarten teacher. He completed his primary education at Kushtia Mission Primary School and later studied at Kushtia Zilla School. He passed his Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) from

Notre Dame College, Dhaka Notre Dame College, Dhaka (), also known as NDC, is a catholic higher secondary and degree level educational institution founded and managed by the priests of the Congregation of Holy Cross located in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Upon th ...

in the science stream. In 2018, he enrolled at

(BUET) in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Abrar was the eldest of two brothers. His younger brother, Abrar Faiyaz, also later enrolled at BUET.

Death

Abrar Fahad, a second-year student in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, was murdered in Room 2011 of Sher-e-Bangla Hall. He was a resident of Room 1011 in the same hall. Abrar had visited home 10 days before and planned to stay until October 20. However, with exams approaching, he decided to return to the dormitory to continue his studies. On the night of October 6, 2019, Abrar was subjected to brutal torture by a group of Chhatra League leaders and activists inside Sher-e-Bangla Hall at BUET. His lifeless body was recovered from the ground floor of Sher-e-Bangla Hall at 3 AM on October 7, 2019. Medical officer Dr. Md. Mashuk Elahi declared him dead at around 3 AM.

Legacy

On 2022, Fahad's younger brother, Abrar Faiyaz, cleared the admission test for BUET, the same institute where Abrar was murdered. He added, "I took the decision upon discussing the matter with my family members". In October 2024, a short film titled ''Room Number 2011'' was released, named after the dorm room where he was killed. Directed by Sheikh Jisan Ahamed, the film was based on the events surrounding his death and the subsequent impact on student politics and

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...

. Abrar's death also played a part in catalyzing broader political movements in Bangladesh, culminating in what has been referred to as the "

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

". This movement saw mass protests against the government, calling for greater democratic freedoms, transparency, and a pushback against oppressive political practices. On the fifth anniversary of Fahad's death, a foundation stone was laid after a memorial meeting organized under the banner of "Abrar Fahad Smriti Sangsad" at Plassey intersection in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

A. B. M. Badruzzaman inaugurated the foundation stone of the memorial. They also demanded the government to announce October 7, the day of Abrar's death, as the 'National Anti-Aggression Day'. In 2025, The Kushtia Stadium was renamed Shaheed Abrar Fahad Stadium, commemorating him, and the same year, Fahad was awarded the

, which is the highest civilian honour in

posthumously. In March 2025, Bangabandhu Avenue was renamed Shaheed Abrar Fahad Avenue.

Notes

References

External links