Leaders of different student organisations on Thursday blamed Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, for recent attacks on left student leaders and activists in Rajshahi and Chattogram and demanded immediate arrest of and exemplary punishment for the attackers.
At least 20 left student leaders and activists were injured when the demonstrations of the Democratic Students鈥� Alliance, a combine of seven left student organisations, rejecting the Supreme Court鈥檚 May 27 verdict acquitting Jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam of 1971 war crimes charges came under attack on Rajshahi University campus on Tuesday and in front of Chattogram Press Club on Wednesday.
The student leaders鈥� Thursday demand came from separate programmes in Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet.
The police said that they arrested BGC Trust University student Obaidur Rahman and street vendor Mohammad Selim while attacking the Chattogram protesters Wednesday afternoon and produced them before a Chattogram metropolitan magistrate court that allowed bail for Obaidul and sent Selim to jail.
The police, however, did not provide the political identity of the duo.
Chattogram Kotwali police station officer-in-charge Abdul Karim said that his police station鈥檚 sub-inspector Nawsher Qureshi filed a case in connection with the attack.
A video showing a youth kicking a female leader of the Democratic Students鈥� Alliance during the attack went viral on social media on Thursday. Law enforcement agencies are now working to identify the attacker, the police said.
Addressing a press conference on the Dhaka University campus on Thursday, Students鈥� Federation of Bangladesh president Mashiur Rahman Khan Richard blamed Shibir for damaging the possibilities of qualitative change in student politics after the July uprising.
He demanded disclosure of the attackers鈥� political identity and their immediate arrest.
The attacks were carried out under the banner of Anti-Shahbagh Unity and Shibir will have to clarify their position as their leaders and activists were seen in attacking the left student organisations鈥� protests.
In a separate press conference at its Naya Paltan office in Dhaka, Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal general secretary Nasir Uddin Nasir condemned the attacks and blamed Shibir leaders and activists for carrying out the attacks.
抖阴精品 Staff Correspondent in Chattogram reported that the Chattogram unit of Democratic Students鈥� Alliance in a press conference at the office of the Chattogram Union of Journalists on Thursday demanded immediate arrest of Shibir activists involved in the attack on its Wednesday rally and exemplary punishment for the attackers.
The Democratic Students鈥� Council vice-president Anny Chowdhury, addressing the press conference, also demanded to identify the attackers and reconsider Azharul鈥檚 acquittal of the war crimes charges.
She claimed that the attackers included Shibir leader Abrar Hasan Riyad, former Shibir leader Akash Chowdhury, Taukir and Afsar.
The Sylhet unit of the Democratic Student Alliance brought out a procession and held a rally at Sylhet Central Shaheed Minar demanding immediate arrest of the attackers and condemning Azharul鈥檚 acquittal.
Socialist Students鈥� Front president Salman Siddiqui and general secretary Rafiqujjaman Farid in a joint statement protested against the attacks and demanded immediate arrest of the attackers.
RU and Chattogram units of Islami Chhatra Shibir in separate statement denied their involvement in the attacks.
The Dhaka University unit of Shibir in a press release on Thursday, however, claimed that leftists were attempting to destroy the democratic and coexistence environment on campuses through their demonstrations.
