Dhaka, Oct. 8 -- Tuesday marks six years since the murder of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) student Abrar Fahad - a killing that shocked the nation and laid bare the violent culture of political dominance inside public university dormitories.

On 6 October 2019, Abrar's mother fed him and saw him off on a bus from Kushtia to Dhaka. That was the last time she saw her son alive. That evening, the 21-year-old electrical and electronic engineering student was summoned to a room in Buet's Sher-e-Bangla Hall by members of the then-Awami League-affiliated Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL).

There, he was beaten for hours and later died from his injuries. According to BBC reports from that time, witnesses said Abrar was ...