Police investigation has revealed that jealousy may have driven a college student to kill Jagannath University (JnU) student Md Jobayed Hossen.

According to police, the suspect Mahir Rahman — a student of Shaikh Burhanuddin Post Graduate College — killed Jobayed after his girlfriend said that she liked Jobayed who was her private tutor. According to the police there was no romantic involvement between Jobayed and the girl.

Bangshal Police Station Officer-in-Charge Rafiqul Islam said the detained girl, a second-year student at a women's college in Dhaka, had been in a nine-year relationship with the suspect. They grew up in the same neighbourhood and had been close since their school days.

"Mahir became enraged after learning that his girlfriend liked Jobayed. In anger and frustration, he killed Jobayed with the help of a friend," the OC said.

He added that the girl appeared calm and composed during interrogation and claimed she had no prior knowledge of the murder. Police are continuing the investigation.

Jobayed Hossen, a statistics student of the 2019–20 session at Jagannath University, was also president of the Comilla District Students' Welfare Association and a member of the convening committee of JnU Chhatra Dal.

For about a year, he had been tutoring the girl in physics, chemistry and biology at her family's residence on Nurbox Lane in Armanitola.

Around 4:45pm yesterday, Jobayed's body was found on the third floor of the building. Police later found traces of blood from the staircase to the floor where his body was discovered lying face down.

Jagannath University students blocked the Tatibazar intersection and set fire in front of Bangshal Police Station, later yesterday evening demanding the arrest of those involved.

Police detained the girl from her residence at around 11:00pm and recorded her statement after a long interrogation. Jobayed's body was sent to Mitford Hospital for autopsy around 10:50pm.

More than 14 hours after the killing, no case had been filed as of this morning. Family members alleged that police at Bangshal Police Station delayed accepting their case.

Enayet Hossain Saikat, the victim's elder brother, said, "We wanted to file a case naming five people, including the girl, her parents, the suspect, and his friend Nafis. But the OC advised us not to include so many names, saying the case might become 'weak' if we did."

He said that despite being at the police station since 1:00am, they were unable to file the case even by 8:30am.

When asked about the delay, OC Rafiqul Islam said, "We will accept the case as per the complainant's statement. However, I advised them to consult university teachers before finalising the names of the accused."

As of this morning, Mahir and his friend Nafis remain at large. Police said a manhunt is underway to arrest them.