Cox’s Bazar: The last day of November will be remembered by a Rohingya family in Kutupalong refugee camp for the lost of their 21 years of son in what appeared to be a cold-blooded murder.

Nurul Hakim, son of Nur Alam and shofika Begum (Shed no. 42, Block B and MRC no. 52401) was one of the Rohingya refugee youths growing up in the dire refugee camp with broken future. When he started to see a little hope ahead of him, he paid an ultimate price, being a voiceless Rohingya refugee residing in one of the most restricted and under-managed refugee camps in the world, which has taken root since 1992.

He was talking with his friend, Hassan on the cold and dark night of November 30 when another Rohingya youth, Abdul Rahim (son of Master Zakir) approached him at around 7 O’clock. Abdul Rahim told him to go and meet Nurul Kobir, a local Bangladeshi who is commonly known as Botto.

Being acquainted to both Abdul Rahim and Nurul Kobir, he and his friend went out to the outskirts of the camp, about 500 m from his shed where he was told to meet. As soon as he arrived, he was accused of not paying back 20 Taka he owed for shopping at Abdul Rahim’s store. He was then threatened to deport back to Burma (Myanmar) or tie on the mango tree (at the meeting place).

Their verbal argument led the physical hostility as Abdul Rahim picked up a stick and Botto took out a metal torch-light with which both he and his friend were beaten. Afterwards, they were pushed towards an incoming auto-rickshaw (CNG) on the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf Highway.

In the violent act of intentional murder, Nurul Hakim sustained serious injured and the perpetrators ran away from the site where Rohingya refugees arrived and brought him to the clinic run by MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres).

He was given the basic life-saving treatment in the clinic and quickly referred to Chittagong Medical College Hospital as his condition worsen for intensive care where he died waiting for treatment at 4 am on 2nd of December.

The body of the victim was transferred to Kutupalong Refugee camp to proceed with the burial ritual. It was 48 hours after the murder, an investigation team from Ukhiya Police Station who recorded the testimonies of witnesses and promised to arrest the perpetrators involved in the cold-blooded murder.

The father of the victim initially hoped both Abdul Rahim and Botto would be brought to the justice, but the hope evaporates as various distorted news are being reported in the favour of the perpetrators who are influential with money, law and order in the district of Ukhiya.

Botto is one of the well-known notorious persons in the area for their vicious criminal activities from robbery to extortion, and frequently get away without having faced the judicial system.