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Police believe he withdrew the money to buy marijuana from a drug dealer he had planned to meet on the footpath.

It’s not known just how much cash the young man had on him at the time he was attacked. Police believe the attack was targeted and a robbery was planned, but don’t believe Chowdhury’s alleged attackers intended to kill the young man described by his friends as fun-loving and adventurous.

The next morning around 7 a.m., two cyclists found Chowdhury’s lifeless and bloodied body on the pathway, which lies between the South Keys OC Transpo station and the Airport Parkway. Police located Chowdhury’s backpack and a hammer, possibly used in the beating, nearby.

While his group of fellow international student friends knew Chowdhury worked hard in school, they also knew he enjoyed his free time on the weekends. Some of them had been worried about the kind of company he was keeping after moving back to Ottawa after a year studying in Windsor and Kingston.

They said they didn’t know why he would have been on the path, except to meet someone.

Both Ruch and Kozielo attended Gloucester’s Norman Johnston Secondary Alternate Program, an alternative high school geared toward assisting students who have had trouble earning credits in a traditional classroom setting to learn independently under the direction of a teacher.

Ruch, a former Canadian Tire employee, has the words “Respect” and “Honesty” tattooed in bold lettering on his right and left forearms. “Two virtues to have in life,” he commented on a picture of the tattoos he posted on Facebook.

The congregation at the Ottawa Mosque performed Chowdhury’s funeral prayer just one week ago. His friends gathered outside the mosque said they just wanted justice. Chowdhury’s body was flown to Bangladesh on Monday.

syogaretnam@ottawacitizen.com

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