Chatra League hack off foot of Shibir activist, shoot him in barbaric attack at Rajshahi (Graphic)

Warning: Post contains graphic content. View at your own discretion

In a shocking incident, armed terrorists of Chatra league, student organization of the ruling party Awami League carried out a barbaric attack on Rasel Ahmed, fourth year student of Finance and Marketing department of Rajshahi University and secretary of Nawab Abdul Latif Hall unit of Rajshahi University Chatra Shibir, chopping off his right foot and shooting him three times in both sides of his chest in FRONT OF THE MEDIA, POLICE, TEACHERS AND STUDENTS!!!

How the attack occurred:

At 1 p.m. on Monday, the 16th of June, the fourth year final examinations of the Arabic department at Rajshahi University were being held on the premises of the Shahidullah Arts Building, when Chatra League cadres, along with the police, locked the east and west gates of the department and took position in front of the building in order to take hostage Chatra Shibir activists and leaders. During the time, the BCL cadres led by RU General Secretary and well known terrorist Touhid Al Tuhin, were seen moving around in front of police, openly displaying firearms. At about 3:30 pm, as the exam was ongoing, police and Chatra League took hostage the Chatra Shibir RU Human Resources Development affairs secretary, Ziauddin Bablu.

Ziauddin Bablu, RU Shibir HRD secretary held by police and Chatraleague

Earlier, at about 12:45 pm, Chatra League cadres took Rasel Ahmed as hostage from in front of the Shahiudullah Arts Building.  After holding him hostage for more than three hours, the cadres, armed with machetes and firearms, began hacking Rasel mercilessly in front of the media, police, teachers and general students. The attackers then proceeded to completely hack off his right foot. Then they fired three shots at his chest in quick succession and after leaving him critically injured, quickly fled the scene.  

Recovering him from the scene, the police dragged the profusely bleeding Rasel out on all fours, and sent him to Rajshahi Medical College for immediate life saving treatment. He was later admitted to ward number 31 after receiving immediate care at the Intensive Care Unit. Hospital Police Box in-charge SI Pradip Kumar informed that Rasel’s health was in critical condition.

Those involved with the barbaric incident :

Witnesses said that Rasel was taken hostage by a group of Chatra League cadres led by BCL RU Joint Secretary Golam Kibria, BCL RU Vice President Tonmoy Ananda Ovi, Organizational affairs secretary Faisal Ahmed Ronu, Don, Rinet, Shushmoy and Kauser Ahmed Koushik from in front of Shahidullah Arts building, where he was taken inside and subject to the horrible attack. Witnesses further testified that ronu and Kibria had played the leading role in the attack.

Media reaction:

The reaction by major media such as Daily Star, Dhaka Tribune was largely lukewarm and written in a manner that attempted to discredit the real version of events. They tried to attribute the incident to mere student politics, and repeatedly identified attackers as unknown miscreants, despite overwhelming witness testimony to prove otherwise. 

Shibir have called for a half day shutdown from 6 am to 2 pm on Tuesday at Rajshahi, Chapai Nawabganj and Natore protesting this barbaric attempt to murder a student, demanding justice for Rasel. We demand an independent investigation and justice against the perpetrators of this barbaric incident and the animals in uniform (the police) who stood watching while this heinous crime was being committed.

Lakho Konthe Exposed: Episode 1, A story of forced attendance

More than 254,681 people gathered and sang the national anthem in chorus at the National Parade Square grounds in an attempt to create a Guinness world record and be a part of the history through the event ‘Lakho Kontha Sonar Bangla’.

On May 6 last year, the Sahara India Pariwar had set a Guinness Book record by arranging the singing of the Indian national anthem by 121,653 people.

People began gathering at the ground way before 6am, when the gates were to open. The event began at 8am with a cultural function, staged by the Shilpakala Academy, featuring eminent artistes.

The Prime Minister arrived, sporting the national flag, around 10.30am. At around 11.20am, Bangladesh tried its hand at making history as thousands joined voices together to sing ‘Amar Sonar Bangla Ami Tomai Bhalobashi’ (My Golden Bengal, I Love You).

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina behind a bulletproof shield at the Lakho Konthe Program

A headcount was done every time an individual was let in. There was an automatic counting machine at each entrance. A gate along with the counting system was also erected at the entry of the special podium made for the Prime Minister and other VIPs. A big screen, set up in each sector, showed the strength of the gathering at regular intervals.

Every participant was given a cap and a bag containing the national flag, a certificate, and a card containing the national anthem and relevant rules, water bottle, juice, and saline.

The media would have liked you to believe that every one of the above information was true. The truth however on the ground was otherwise.

As a Daily Star editorial wrote, schools were strictly asked to assemble their students by 6.30 am to be picked by buses at 7 am for a function that ultimately started at 11.20 am. Parents have horrendous stories to tell of how they had to subject their children through a grueling experience of early morning wake up, hours of waiting for transport, in places that often changed, anxious waiting with no possibility of contact till the function ended, inadequate water and food, and no exception being made for sick students.  As is usual in our society, the poorer the schools and their kids the stricter and more arduous were the conditions imposed on them, sometimes by overzealous principals who wanted to curry favour with higher ups.

In this regard, many students confirmed that they were threatened with marks deduction if they would not attend. Take for example Mirpur Bangla School where students were informed by the administration led by Dhaka-16 MP Iliyasuddin Mollah that they would be given an overall of 40 marks for just attendance in the program, which would be cut in the event they’d not attend.   

Worse was the case with the large number of garments workers who were forced to attend the event in order to receive a certain amount of their wages for the day. The writer has had acquaintance with garments workers who complained of being forced to walk the distance to the Parade Grounds as a result of the absence of any transport in Dhaka from early in the morning on that day. A garments worker from Mirpur 12 section confirmed that around 320 taka had been deducted from her workday wage for not attending the Lakho Konthe program.

As it turns out, the story of forceful attendance will prove to be just a tip of the iceberg as we go into the next episode of the Lakho Konthe exposed series of posts. 

The Real Terrorists in Bangladesh

In a blitzkrieg of a remark, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan defended the security forces on Saturday, at a dialogue organised by the BBC Bengali Service in Dhaka nonetheless.

In response to BNP Vice Chairman Hafizuddin Ahmed’s question: “Isn’t the basic right of a man to live is denied by the crossfire?”, the minister replied: “Of course, every human being has the right to live. But, I think a bit of crossfire is needed to uproot terrorism from the country.”

He further added, “The people of the country have accepted crossfire. Crossfire do take place in other countries too, which is legal”

The comments have drawn national and international criticism from concerned individuals, online activists and advocacy groups.

This comes at an increasingly important time where corruption, extrajudicial killing and an utter disregard for the rule of the law by the rulers themselves is rife in Bangladesh, which was placed 92nd among 99 world nations in terms of the rule of the law in the past year by the World Justice Project (WJP). Add to that the news that allegations of murder, torture and forced disappearances are being levelled at Bangladesh's government in a case under review by the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and you get an idea of the picture at hand here.

Still looking for more evidence of the real terrorists in Bangladesh? This is a picture taken just yesterday from the online version of the popular newspaper Amar Desh (print version closed down by the government) of public armed clashes between two groups of Awami league factions fighting each other at Sreepur, Gazipur, over elections on the 9th of March, 2013.

And you still ask as to who are the real terrorists in Bangladesh?        

Chatro League is wide scale perpetrator of eveteasing, pornography and cyber crime : Case Studies

Manabzamin, 22nd December 2013

3 Female students of DU victim of Chhatra League’s eve teasing

Link: http://mzamin.com/details.php?mzamin=Mzk5Nw%3D%3D&s=MQ%3D%3D

3 female students from the faculty of Fine Arts in DU (Dhaka University) were reported to be victims of eve teasing by the Chhatra League (the student wing of the ruling party Awami League). Another student along with the three female students was injured after being subject to beating after protesting against the teasing incident. The three injured girls have submitted written complaints to the university’s proctor. Proctor Dr. Amjad Ali has acknowledged the occurrence of the incident. General students have expressed their angry reaction over this incident. They’ve also threatened to announce harsh protests including human chains if a fair trial regarding this incident isn’t done. It was known that last Friday, during the evening the three students along with a senior male student were passing the Jahurul Haque hall while heading to Nilkhet. Chhatra League worker Anik was sitting at the gate of Jahurul Haque hall with his friends at that moment. They started uttering abusive words indicating the female students. At one point, the senior male student stood up and protested against the excesses by the teasers. Anik and his accomplices reacted furiously and assaulted him. When general students present at the scene tried to butt in and stop them, Anik called in 20-25 more Chhatra League men from the hall. Then they ganged up together and assaulted the three female students and their male companion. The Chhatra League miscreants used their pens to attack and hurt the victims. Their attacks rendered them seriously injured in the eyes, hands and feet, a result of the unwarranted shoving, punching & kicking by the attackers. They were left with bruises in their hands and their backs due to the attacks with ballpoint pens.

Even days into this despicable incident, no attempt at punishing the perpetrators was observed from the side of university administration. The wounded students had given verbal complaints to the proctor earlier and on the 21st of December they submitted written complaints. When the injured students said that they wanted to submit a General Diary in the police station the proctor forbade them to do so, assuring them of a fair judgment by the university administration. In his response to this incident, university proctor Dr. A M Amjad said that the investigation of this incident was underway and that those found guilty would be punished for sure. It is mentionable that, even besides this incident, there is also complaint regarding a previous incident that Anik and his friends tried to dishonor girls amid a concert in the Sohrawardi Uddan arranged a few days ago on the occasion of the 16th December, the Victory Day.

24th Decemeber 2013; AmaderShomoy report

http://www.amaderrshomoy.com/content/2013/12/25/middle0914.htm

Chatraleague’s Sex and pornographic cyber crime (Translator’s note: Chatra League is the student wing of Awami League, the current ruling party of Bangladesh)

Desk report: What kind of brutality is this? Taking videos of rape scenes! A case happened in Faridpdur where a 14 years old girl was raped under fear of a weapon and the rape scene was then published in the market. In another case, two rapists raped a student of class 5 near a pond and took a video on their mobile.

Headline-2

At Shokhipur, Tangail, the Joint Convener of Chhatra league with his team raped a young girl in medieval barbaric fashion. Shockingly, after the sick act, they expressed their glee after taking that video. The victim filed a case against the convicts but the Police were unable to arrest them. On Saturday morning, the victim and her family were forced to leave the area for self protection. Shokhipur upazila Chhatra league joint convener Habibullah Itihash aka Habib, upazila Chatra League leader leader Arif Ahmed, Babul Azad, nephew of Sub-division Chairman Shaokat Shikdar and his grandson Ariful Islam kidnapped the girl forcefully. They then brought her to Hazipara in Shukhipur  on motorcycle to a hostel owned by one Alomgir Hossain. Later the joint convener of Chhatra League Habib raped the girl while his accomplices recorded the scene.

Headline-3

Ahsan Kabir Mamun, cadre of the Chhatra League, recorded a video while raping a schoolgirl in Pirojpur:

As the district Chhatra League Information and Research secretary Ahsan Kabir Mamun raped a schoolgirl, his accomplices recorded it and the animals then spread it out the market. 

Headline-4

Last July in a village located at a rural area of Faridpur, a student of class 6 was raped and the video was published through Internet, mobile and VCD.

Headline-5

A young girl of Faridpur went at Chorvodrashon, for a visit to her Grandmother’s house. There she was abducted and taken to a jute field and raped by 4 rapists including Tushar, Kalam. The animals recorded the disgusting scenes via mobile phone camera.

Headline-6

In Jessore, over 100 VCD of a girl’s rape scene are now in the market. Victim’s family member and the villagers informed that the girl, who was a student of Jangal Bandha primary school, was imprisoned in Monira’s house (a resident of the village) in the same village and raped by a man named Shukur. It occurred last 14th April in the morning. The accused threatened everyone to keep their mouth shut or they would kill them.

Headline-7

At Baysha village of Keshobpur upazila in Jessore, a video of an adolescent being raped was recorded by mobile phone. The victim’s father later filed a case under Female and child abuse prevention law. Last 27th September afternoon, a girl from the local madrassah of class six was raped by Masud and Izazul beside a pond in the same village. That was recorded too by the mobile phone and released in the market.  

Headline-8

A group of criminal lured a college girl by promises of love, and after raping her, published videos in the market. The matter was only disclosed 1.5 months later. A case has been filed against three people including the rapist.

The college girl got acquainted with Parvez Sikder, son of Akam Sikder of Fulhuri village of the same upazila via a private coaching centre. She went going to Konnadoho village of the Jhenaidah to her aunt’s house on the 19th of September of this year. As she was returning back to her home 3 days later on the 22nd of September, she met with Modhu, friend of Parvez at Bhatoi Bazar. He promised to give her a ride home on his bike. He however, took her to Parvez Sikder’s house where another friend Rasel was also present. There she was raped, the scene filmed and then later spread in the market.    

Headline-9

Female leader (of Chatra League) of Barishal B.M. College recorded a video of her roommate in a naked state on her mobile and then demanded 30000 tk as blackmail. The victim could not save herself even after paying by 3000 tk. The female leader demanded more money and then shared the video with boys via mobile.

Headline-10

Local Chhatraleague leaders of Potuakhali and another one at Barisal raped students and then circulated the videos in the market. 

  

The crimes committed by these perpetrators fall under three laws. Cyber Law 2006, Women and children abuse prevention law 2000 and penal code. What has been done by Police, RAB and law enforcement to prevent cyber crime? That’s why the Chhatraleague workers are continuing to perpetrate such crimes and then spreading them in the market. They are not treating it as a severe crime. But according to Information and technology law 2006, act 54 and 55, punishment of cyber crime is 10 years imprisonment or 1 million taka penalty or both. There is no chance to ignore this crime because if we ignore it today, there would spring blue film factories in the housing estates and the videos would be circulated everywhere.  The fabric of society, already weak, would be destroyed.

Awami League and police tactics against opposition: A couple of case studies

Incidents of violence abound in Bangladesh the last few days of hartal. Analysts of news and many reporters have been eager to pin all the blame on the activists of the opposition in perpetration of violence. Little reported is the fact that Awami League (ruling party) cadres along with police have often tried to use a combination of ruthless force and guile in implication of BNP, Jamaat and Shibir activists in violence that is in reality reactionary, but shown and published by a maximum of media (complicit with the government and the ruling party due to either ownership issues or ideological affiliation) as being perpetrated by the opposition itself. However, little propagated reports of news show that everything does not go unreported. Despite a heavily focused biased campaign of implicating the opposition in every act of violence, we have managed to sieve through and bring forward specific examples we believe will help in showcasing otherwise.

Case study: Awami League cadres using opposition slogans while carrying out violence

News Link: http://mzamin.com/details.php?nid=NzcyMjk%3D&ty=MA%3D%3D&s=MTk%3D&c=MQ%3D%3D

Translation:

Giving the “Naraye Takbir” slogan ( a slogan associated with the Jamaat-e-Islami) , a robber gang, headed by a Chhatra League [Awami League’s student wing] leader, robbed and vandalized vehicles along the Dhaka-Chittagong highway at Sitakund. 5 passengers were seriously injured in this incident. General people converged upon the miscreantsand and held 3 of the robber gang. According to local sources of information, after the hartal was concluded on Tuesday, at 7:30 PM a 7 member robber gang pounced upon passing vehicles on the Barabkund Siraj Bhuiyan street of the highway, robbing and vandalizing 10/15 cars in the process. During these, the robber gang beat several microbus passengers of Mirsorai area along with Nasifa (11), Momotaj Begum (34), Monir Uddin (18), Mohiuddin (38), Mostaq Ullah (32) and then snatched their money & cellphones. Later, hearing the cry of the victims, local people came down the street, ran after those robbers and caught three of them. The held three are Shuvo Dash (18), Sobuj Dash (22), Shahin (19). They admitted that on the order of Jamshed Uddin, the former in-charge of Sitakund Degree College’s Chhatra League, they gave “Naraye Taqbir Allahu Akbar” slogan and carried out the vandalizing and haphazard robbing. On being informed, Sitakund police station’s SI Mahbubul Alam came to the spot. On the other hand, Jamshed has been hiding since this event.

News Link: http://timenewsbd.com/politics/2013/10/31/14643

Translation:

Thu, 31 Oct, 2013 12:05:04 PM

3 Jubo League (Awami League’s student and youth wing) workers were held by the public for vandalizing vehicles while giving slogans associated with the opposition parties BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami. Local people informed that they held the three Jubo League cadres from the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Sitakund while they were vandalizing cars and robbing under the cover of these slogans. According to information provided by locals, after the Hartal had concluded on Tuesday, at night 7/8 thugs attacked all the cars on the Barobkund bridge and Siraj Bhuiyan road area of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, vandalized 20/25 vehicles and robbed money and cellphones from the passengers. During this, the slogans which the thugs were giving were “Naraye Taqbir Allahu Akbar” and other political slogans of Jamaat, Shibir & BNP. During this terrorist attack, several passengers of microbus along with Nasifa (11), Momotaj Begum (34), Monir Uddin (18), Mohiuddin (38), Mestaq Ullah (32) were injured. Their money and cellphones were snatched. Hearing the cries of the injured passengers, local people came down to the street and chased after the thugs, nabbing three of them from the spot, namely Suvash Dash (18), Sabuj dash (22) and Shahin (19). After being held, those three thugs admitted that they were Jubo League workers. They further admitted that they were acting under orders from Jamshed Uddin from Mahmudabad village, the former in-charge of Chhatra League (student wing of Awami League) of Sitakund Degree College, who had ordered them to carry out the aforementioned vandalizing and haphazard robbing. They further informed that Chhatra League cadres Alauddin, Alamgir and Hosain from Fokirhat were among those who had escaped. In reply as to why Jamshed had told them to carry outsuch unwarranted acts, the three informed that Jamshed’s shop had been vandalized during clashes on the 25^th of October. That was why, in order to avenge that incident, Jamshed had ordered this robbing with false slogans in order to file a case against BNP & Jamaat activists. On being contacted about the incident, Jamshed informed the media told that he knew nothing about the incident whatsoever. He also claimed that the above incident was false propaganda of the BNP & Jamaat against him & that he didn’t know any of the held miscreants. On the other hand, after being informed about the three held Jubo League workers by concerned citizens, Sitakund police led by SI Mahbubul Alam came to the spot on Wednesday and interrogated the thugs. Local people wanted to hand them over to the police. Surprisingly however, after getting wind their Jubo league identity, the police decided not arrest them. Then on Wednesday in the afternoon in presence of the elders and eminent persons of the locality, they were freed and sent back to their guardians after making them sign bonds that they wouldn’t commit this kind of crime further.

Case Study: Opposition activism vs Awami League cum police action

The reports around opposition induced violence reported in various print and television media outlets indicate that all violence is solely from the side of the opposition Shibir, Jamaat and BNP activists. What these media fail to take into consideration is the popularity that the opposition has gained in their demand for free and fair elections under the caretaker government. What these media have failed to see is the participation of general people in the strikes around the country in the past few days. The situation in Dhaka has featured so prominently in all media that the situation of the whole country is unfortunately measured in terms of the political temperature in Dhaka.

In the majority of the country, the rural areas saw the instantaneous participation of the people in the opposition strikes while urban and metropolitan areas were so blanketed with security forces assisted with Awami League cadres, many of them hired thugs, that going out to demonstrate without anything to defend the self was tantamount to a one way ticket to a near fatal attack through gang lynching followed by imprisonment.

This was the picture of public participation,

      

Women at Pabna during the nation wide strike come out in numbers to protest the policies of the government, release of the hundreds and thousands of political detainees, release of leaders facing unjust trials at the International Crimes tribunal and a call for an impartial interim government for a free and fair polls.

 Hundreds of people bring out stick processions at Meherpur in support of strikes called by the opposition

 Students of the Islamic University out on the streets in peaceful human processions in support of the strike.

Strike supporters in peaceful stand; playing cricket on the streets on Dhaka-Rangpur highway at Bogura. If this is not peaceful, then I don't really know what is. But this is something you will not see in your regular media.

On the other hand, Awami League thugs along with police used force, intimidation, arrests and what not, resulting in retaliation that became fodder for the cameras which were used by government complicit media to show that the strikes were all about violence. Perhaps none of this fearsome violence would have materialized if the government and security forces would have allowed the opposition to peacefully protest and above all, actually sit in talks with the opposition for a better future instead of just adding fuel to an already volatile situation through a staunch thick headed stance. 

These are some instances of how peaceful the Awami League and police were,

This is Rashed from Rajshahi, who was killed by automatic gunfire from the ranks of the police and the Awami League last week. His fault was that he attended a protest in support of the strike.

 This is a Jamaat Dolia union Ameer who was tortured by Awami League thugs 

Sharp weapons and shooting at the body level were the combination used to great effect by the police and the Awami League in order to create chaos, anarchy and violence. An Awami League cadre using a sharp weapon at Comilla in order to disperse opposition who are seen using rocks as understood from the picture. 

Shahbag spearheads cheap politics with dead BCL cadre Dip

A third-year student of mechanical engineering and BUET unit Chhatra League convening committee member, Arif Raihan Dip, died at about 4:00am in Square Hospitals in the capital on the 3rd of July 2013. He had been unconscious since he had been stabbed him in his room at the Kabi Nazrul Islam Hall on April 9. He was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in a critical condition and was later was moved to Square Hospitals.

Arif Raihan Dip Source: Daily Star

The media spin:

This is how the media described Dip’s attack-

1. Newage says, “An unnamed man had stabbed him in his room at the Kabi Nazrul Islam Hall on April 9.”

2. Daily Star says, “An unidentified man dragged Dwip down the hall’s stairs and stabbed him indiscriminately on April 9.”

3. Bdnews, in a more dramatic tone, claims, “Finally the miscreants attacked Dip in his dormitory on Apr 9 and left him severely wounded in his head and back.”

4. In the most dramatic tone, mixing unverifiable witness accounts into the factual description, the Dhaka Tribune claims, “According to witnesses, four youths hacked Dwip in his room, located in the Kobi Nazrul Islam Hall, using sharp weapons at around 11am on April 9.”

All media were unanimous in planning the seed of doubt, when they quoted Chatra League leaders pinning the blame on usual suspects. The Dhaka Tribune deserves credit for being the most (mis)informative when it says, “Although the assailants could not be recognised, Arif’s friends said they suspect members of Islami Chhatra Shibir or Hefazat-e-Islam of being responsible.”

The motive:

New Age reports that Raihan is said to have been attacked as he along with some other students stopped an imam of a hall mosque providing Hefazat-e-Islam activists with food during their long march to Dhaka on April 5. The imam, Abdul Alim, was suspended immediately as the students informed the university’s student welfare director Delwar Hossain of the matter.

Bdnews starts playing around with the motive when it states, “ The assault followed hearsay that he along with some other students had barred an imam of one of the hall mosques from supplying food to Hifazat-e Islam activists during their long march to Dhaka on Apr 6. Later, the Imam, Abdul Alim was suspended.”

Other media did not care to report on the matter.

A past history of violence:

Although ‘progressive’ news media did not hesitate to identify Dip as being some sort of a hero, his documented past is not so rosy. This was the same Dip who was suspended for being involved in attacks on general students just about a year ago. As reported by bdnews, following a dispute on Dec 28 2011, between the senior and junior batches over entering a concert organised for the rag day of the outgoing batch, 2008 batch students Saifullah Sikder Mithun and Sujit Saha of the Material and Metallurgical Department and 2009 batch student Arif Raihan Dip of the Mechanical Engineering Department.  on Dec 31 2011, beat Tousif Ahmed Ishan, a final-year student of the Computer Science and Engineering Department with hockey sticks and iron rods in his room in the Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall, leaving him with severe injuries in his both hands and legs. BUET unit Chhatra League general secretary Tonmoy Ahmed had said though the three accused were his fellow party activists, his party was not involved in the attack. They would be expelled from the party, he had added.  BUET students organised protests on the campus to demand that authorities permanently expel the three students who are accused of beating Ishan.

Not only was Dip reinstated into the university within a short period of time, he was also reinstated into the Chatra League itself and was a Chhatra League convening committee member on the eve of his attack on the imam.

A victim?

The Detective Branch arrested fourth-year civil engineering student Md Mezbah Uddin on April 18 at the campus in this connection. The police said that Mezbah had confessed to attacking Raihan in the hall. Mezbah is reported to have told investigators that Raihan had beaten the BUET mosque imam for providing Hefazat activists with food on April 5. However, NO connections to Hefazat OR Bangladesh Islami Chatra shibir have been even remotely suggested by police or proved by anyone.

The supposed ‘confession’ of Mezbah is also subject to controversy in the current climate of fear stemming from a plethora of well documented police excesses in Bangladesh. Add to this the fact that the Lalbagh police seized a bag containing a machete, a pair of pajamas, a panjabi and a cap from the Kobi Nazrul Hall and you get the idea as to where we are all headed to.

Shahbag plays cheap politics:

Shahbagh protesters bring out a procession in Dhaka on Tuesday protesting at the death of BUET student Arif Raihan Dwip three months after he was hacked by a fellow. — New age photo

Dhaka Tribune and New Age reported that Shahbagh protesters, meanwhile, held protests in the Shahbagh crossing on Tuesday evening demanding an immediate arrest of the attackers, blaming Shibir and Hefazat activists for the attack. They were led by Convener of the Ganajagaran Mancha, Imran H Sarkar and coordinator Maruf Rasul. The protesters from the programme accused Hefazat-e-Islam of making the attack on Dwip that took his life. This of course seriously raises concerns as to whether Shahbag really has turned into a haven for anti-Islamic hatred and partisan politics (the Chatra League is and a driving force at Shahbag and it is the student.body of the ruling Awami League)

So the question remains, is the death of a well known miscreant going to be just another manufactured scenario to further fuel the Islamophobic narrative actively sponsored by the government of Bangladesh?

Chatra League: Embodying terrorism en masse

UNB reported that two people, including an 8 year old boy, were killed and another person was injured during a gunfight between armed cadres of the Jubo League and Bangladesh Chhatra League over dropping a tender for three development projects of Bangladesh Railway East Zone headquarters, CRB Bhaban, under Kotwali Police Station at around 11:45am.

  

8 year old Arman. What was his fault?

Kotwali Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Nezamuddin said the armed clashes erupted following a dispute and running battles between the groups of Chhatra League and Juba League over a tender for a Tk 4.8 million renovation project of Feni Railway Station.

Police said that around 20 rounds of gunshots were fired at the time.

After the horrible incident, police conducted drives in different parts of Chittagong and detained around 40 people, including Chhatra League Central Assistant Secretary Saiful Alam Limon.

The deceased persons were identified as passersby Arman Hossain, 8, son of Siddique Ahmed and Saju Palit, 24. Both were residents of a nearby slum. While playing out in the open, Arman was shot in the head and died on the spot. Saju was sitting on a roadside tea stall near the clash site when a bullet hit him in the head. Doctors declared him dead after he was rushed to Chittagong Medical College and Hospital.

What did he do to deserve this end? Was innocence his fault?

How the Chatra League (re)acted,

In a media statement, the President of the Chatra League, HM Badiuzzaman Shohagh and the General Secretary Siddique Nazmul Alam said there was no active committee of Chhatra League in the port city. "None have been ordered to work for the organisation at any level there," the statement said.

However, police have said that apart from Limon, the arrestees include Chhatra League's Chittagong University unit Organising Secretary Alamgir Tipu, Cultural Affairs Secretary Jamir Uddin and Chittagong Commerce College Vice-President Hasmat Ali Russell.

In a sham of a bid to appear tough, in a press release in the afternoon, the front said it was permanently expelling its Central Assistant Secretary Limon for his involvement with anti-organisational activities

Meanwhile, in this month….

In case you do not know, the above incident is no way an isolated one. Let us refresh our memories from a few examples from June 2013 (this month) itself.

On the 22^nd of June, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-11 arrested president of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) of Burichang chapter with 250 tablets of Yaba (methamphetamine) tablets from Shankushil bazar under Burichang upazila early hours Saturday.

On the 14^th of June, local cadres of the Juba League and Bangladesh Chhatra League, carried out an attack on Kazipur municipality office on Wednesday. They vandalised various furniture of three rooms of the office worth around 5 lakh taka.

On the 11^th of June, president of Savar College unit Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) was sued on the charge of rape. Police said that the victim’s mother Doly Begum filed a case against BCL leader Ahmed Rubel and ten others, including his two brothers, with Savar police station in the morning.

A walk down the memory lane….

8 year old Arman Hossain, a victim of today’s clashes, did not deserve to die the way he died. Nor did Bishwajit Das. Neither did 10 year old Rabbi at Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. But the fact is that convicted criminals have been granted immunity and have enjoyed widespread impunity, just because of the obnoxious fact that they are affiliated with that sorry excuse of an organization called the Bangladesh Chatra League (BCL). 

A recent report of Centre for Media Research and Training shows that around 60 higher education institutes of the country were declared shut for indefinite period because of the BCL’s factional clashes and those with their political rivals. They also locked in 200 clashes in different educational institutes over the last four years that left around 4,145 people injured. Around 20 teachers of Dhaka University have been assaulted by Chhatra League activists during this time. They assaulted around 20 teachers of Bangladesh Agriculture University on August 20, 2011. On May 10, 2010, BCL activists assaulted a female teacher and 10 female students of JnU. More than 150 journalists were assaulted by BCL in the last four years by activists of BCL, the report said. 

It was found that in most of the incidents, no cases had been filed. Moreover, cases which were filed were done so against unidentified people even though the attackers had been exposed through media and witnesses. 

In conclusion,

Once the pride of a beleaguered nation, Bangladesh Chatra League of late has turned into a terrorist outfit; one even Sheikh Hasina herself has failed to bring under check. Progenitor of a generation that gave Bangladesh great political leaders, the BCL has now turned into a haven for miscreants and anti-social hypocrites who use it as a breeding ground to create mindless replicas of themselves. It is high time that this terrorist outfit be either banned or brought to justice in order to set the records straight. There is no other alternative.