Dhaka, Dec 23 (Just News): Activists of Awami League’s student front Bangladesh Chhatra League on Sunday swooped on the quota protesters at Dhaka University’s Teachers Student Centre minutes before their scheduled programme leaving at least five of injured.
The injured are — Bin Yeamin Mollah, Tarek Rahman, Ahmed Kabir, Jashim Uddin Akash and Sohrab Hossain — all joint conveners of Bangladesh General Students Rights Protection Council, the platform that spearheaded the recent quota reform movement.
The BCL activists carried out the attack on them half an hour prior to their programme, scheduled to be held at Raju memorial monument at 3:00pm demanding violence free election under the banner ‘Nirapad Bangladesh Chai’.
Witnesses said, a group of Chhatra League activists suddenly launched the attack on the quota reformists when they were preparing for having lunch at TSC cafeteria. The attackers padlocked the gate of TSC and beat them mercilessly.
Of the injured, Sohrab Hossain sustained critical injury in the attack and later whisked off to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and undergoing treatment while rest of the injured took primary treatment there.
Injured Bin Yeamin Mollah said they were supposed to hold a human chain demanding violence free election.
‘At around 2:30pm, when we went inside TSC to have lunch, around 20 to 25 Chhatra League activists including Shahidul Shan, school affairs secretary of Shaheed Sergeant Zahurl Haq Hall unit, Sohanur Rahman, vice-president of Ziaur Rahman Hall unit attacked us without any provocation,’ he claimed.
They hurled abusive words towards us and punched, kicked and slapped us mercilessly, he added.
The victims alleged that most of the Chhatra League activists are followers of its Dhaka University unit president Sanjit Chandra Das.
Sanjit said he was unaware of the attack and would look into the matter after knowing about the incident.
The university proctor AKM Golam Rabbani said none filed any compliant regarding the incident yet.
‘But, I sent the proctorial team there after informed about the chaos. Quoting witnesses, they told me that a group was trying to stage a programme which ensued a scuffle between those two groups,’ said the proctor.
