The University of South Florida has decided to confer posthumous doctoral degrees on Bangladeshi PhD student Zamil Ahmed Limon and Nahida Sultana Bristy, who were victims of a brutal killing in the United States.
The degrees will be awarded at the university’s spring commencement ceremony on 9 May.
The university authorities formally informed the Bangladesh Consulate in Miami of the decision on May 5, requesting a representative to receive the honors on behalf of the victims’ families.
A consulate representative will attend the ceremony and accept the recognition on behalf of Limon and Bristy’s families.
Meanwhile, the first funeral prayer for Bristy is scheduled to be held in Tampa on 6 May at 2:00pm. Her body is expected to be flown to Dhaka via Dubai on 7 May, arriving on 9 May at 8:40am.
Limon, 27, a graduate of Khulna University, was pursuing a PhD in geography, environment, and policy at the University of South Florida. Bristy, also 27, was a former student of Noakhali Science and Technology University and was studying chemical engineering in the US.
The two went missing on 16 April, prompting their families to contact local police after losing communication.
In connection with the killing, US authorities arrested Hisham Abugharbeh, a roommate of Limon, from his family residence. Following interrogation, Limon’s mutilated body was recovered on April 24 from garbage bags near the Howard Frankland Bridge area, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Abugharbeh has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
