Santrash Birodhi Chhatra Oikya, a new alliance of twelve student bodies, withdrew their hours-long blockade at the Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka, demanding immediate arrest of the culprit behind the rape of a Dhaka University student.
"We have withdrawn our blockade, and demanded to see the arrest of the perpetrators within 48 hours," Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) Vice President (VP) Nurul Haque Nur, also a leader of alliance, said on Monday.
They also demanded capital punishment of the culprit, before withdrawing their blockade around 2:25pm on Monday.
Earlier in the day, they blocked the intersection around 12:30pm, causing severe gridlock in the area.
The alliance staged demonstration at the base of Raju Memorial Sculpture around 11am and then marched towards Shahbagh, blocking the intersection.
On Sunday, a second year female student of the university was reportedly violated in Dhaka's Kurmitola area.
The girl has been admitted to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) and her father filed a case with Cantonment police station in this regard.
Ducsu stages demo
In the meantime, Ducsu on Monday announced to hold programs protesting against the sexual molestation of the student.
As part of its protest, the organization brought out a torch procession on the Dhaka University campus around 6pm and marched from the Ducsu building to the Central Shaheed Minar.
They will meet Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal around 9pm and submit a memorandum to him, according to a press release signed by Ducsu Assistant General Secretary Saddam Hossain.
On Tuesday, the Ducsu will hold a rally of students, teachers and citizens at the base of Raju Memorial Sculpture around 3pm, it said.
A cultural protest will be staged from the "Nipiron Birodhi Ducsu Mancha" (Anti-repression Ducsu Mancha) around 6pm, the press release added.
DU students also block Airport Road
The Dhaka University students also blocked the busy Airport Road in Kurmitola area on Monday afternoon.
Several hundred students gathered in the area around 3:30pm and formed a human chain beside the busy thoroughfare.
Around 3:50pm, they blocked the both sides of the road holding placards and demanded arrest of the perpetrator within 24 hours along with exemplary punishment.
The road blockade created long tailbacks of vehicles on different areas adjacent to the spot.
Dhaka University students block the busy Airport Road in Kurmitola area on January 6, 2020 | Dhaka TribunePolice rushed to the spot and managed to remove them from the road around 4:10pm.
Cantonment police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Kazi Shahan Haque said they requested the students to withdraw their blockade considering people's suffering.
"As per their demand, we are trying our best to arrest the offender at the earliest," he added.
