Top leaders of the National Citizen Party (NCP) visited the grave of Abrar Fahad on Tuesday (July 8), paying their respects to the BUET student who was killed in 2019 after posting a Facebook status criticizing unfair Bangladesh-India agreements and cross-border water disputes.

The NCP delegation arrived at the graveyard in Raydanga village of Kaya Union under Kumarkhali Upazila in Kushtia around 1 pm. After praying at Abrar’s grave, they spoke with his parents, Barkat Ullah and Rokeya Khatun. NCP’s central coordinator, Nahid Islam, later spoke to journalists and exchanged views with locals before the team departed for Kushtia town at 1:28 pm. Following a march there, they are expected to head to Meherpur.

The visit is part of NCP’s nationwide “July March to Build the Nation,” which is being held to press for “people’s rights, structural reforms in the state, and a new constitution.” As part of the program, NCP leaders have been holding rallies and marches in towns and Upazilas across the country.

On Monday night (July 7), the NCP held a similar rally and march in Pabna. They arrived in Kushtia town at 12:55 am and stayed overnight at a local hotel.

Among those present were NCP’s Central Coordinator Nahid Islam, Senior Joint Coordinator Samantha Sharmin, Joint Coordinator Dr. Atik Mujahid, Member Secretary Akhter Hossain, Senior Joint Member Secretary Dr. Tasnim Jara, Chief Organizer (North) Sarjis Alam, and Chief Organizer (South) Hasnat Abdullah. Leaders from NCP’s youth and labor wings, along with various district-level leaders and activists from Kushtia, also joined the program.

Abrar Fahad, a student at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), was beaten to death by activists of the student wing of the Awami League party on the night of October 6, 2019. His body was later recovered from the staircase of Sher-e-Bangla Hall around 3 am. The murder sparked nationwide outrage. A case was filed, and on November 13, 2019, police submitted a charge sheet accusing 25 people. Formal charges were framed in court on September 15, 2020.