Members of Special Response Battalion (SRB) on Tuesday arrested the prime accused in a case over the killing of North Western University student Md Azmul Hossain in Khulna.

The arrestee is Hasan Habib Rifat, 30, a former student of Khulna University and son of Monowar Hossain of Sirajganj district.

Tipped off, a joint team of SRB-6 and SRB-8 conducted a drive in Kuriana Adabari area in Nesarabad upazila of Pirojpur district and arrested Rifat around 2:30am.

Rifat had been on the run since the incident, said a press release of SRB.

Rifat confessed to his involvement in the killing, it said.

Later, Rifat was handed over to Harintana Police Station.

Earlier on Friday, Azmul was beaten at a mess on Islamnagar Road, opposite to Khan Jahan Ali Hall of Khulna University, after being accused of theft on Friday night.

At one stage, he fell from the roof of the four-storey building.

He was taken to Khulna Medical College Hospital in critical condition around 1:30am on Saturday where he died.

A murder case was filed against four students of Khulna University (KU) and 20-25 other unidentified people over the death.

However, the names of the four accused could not be known immediately.

Police and local sources said Azmul, a first-year student of the English Department at NWU situated at Sonadanga, ate at the mess on Friday night without paying for the meal, which led to an altercation.

Several students of the mess and some locals later accused him of theft and beat him up mercilessly.

He was subsequently taken to the rooftop where he was allegedly beaten further. His hair was also cut.