Dhaka: At least 13 people were involved in the arson attack on Feni madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi and the attack was carried out at the ‘order’ of madrasa principal SM Sirajuddoula, according to the police.

‘Of the 13 people, four, including two girls, had the direct involvement in setting fire to Nusrat,’ said Banaj Kumar Majumder, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), while briefing reporters at its Dhanmondi headquarters on Saturday, reports the UNB.

Seven people have so far been arrested in connection with the Nusrat murder while a PBI team is conducting a drive to arrest the remaining six, he said.

PBI has identified two reasons behind the attack—filing the case against principal of Sonagazi Senior Fazil Madrasa Sirajuddoula over sexually harassing the girl, which the accused considered tantamount to undermining the Alem society, and victim’s repeated refusal of the love offer by Shahadat Hossain Shamim.

Apart from filing the case, Nusrat turned down several times a love offer made by Shamim, president of Sonagazi Senior Fazil Madrasa unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League.

Meanwhile, Shamim was arrested from Muktagachha upazila in Mymensingh early Saturday.

Four people, including detained Nuruddin and Shahadat, went to Feni jail to meet the madrasa principal on April 4 when he asked them to do something to teach Nusrat.

Following the instruction, Nuruddin, Shamim, Javed Hossain, Hafez Abdul Quader and another person held a meeting at West Hostel of the madrasa on April 5 and decided to kill the girl, Banaj Kumar said.

They shared the plan with two female students and two male students of the madrasa. Of them, one of the girls was asked to bring three burkas and some kerosene, he said.

On April 6, Nusrat was called by one Shampa alias Champa on the 3rd floor of the madrasa building-cum-cyclone centre, saying ‘Nishat’ was being tortured there.

When she went there, she was forcibly tied with her scarf and then set afire pouring kerosene on her, said the PBI chief.

Five people, including Hafez Quader, were staying outside the building, led by Nuruddin, to guard the main gate as well as to keep the situation normal, he said.

Banaj Kumar said they have so far found the involvement of 13 people with the incident. ‘More people might be involved. We’ll surely bring them to justice no matter how powerful they are,’ he added.

Nusrat lost her battle for life at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday night after fighting for her life for five days.