Eminent citizens condemn BCL attack on Abrar Fahad commemorators
Total 23 eminent citizens of the country have condemned the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) attack on a rally organised on Dhaka University (DU) campus to observe the 3rd death anniversary of Buet student Abrar Fahad.
Abrar, a second-year student of the electrical and electronic engineering department of Buet (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology) died on October 7, 2019, after he was mercilessly beaten by the university's Chhatra League men over his Facebook post criticising the government's deals with India.
In a statement issued on Monday, they also heavily criticised the arrest of 24 Chhatra Odhikar Parishad (COP) men, who participated in a rally remembering Abrar, following two cases filed by BCL.
According to the statement, the Chhatra League men attacked the protest rally at Anti-Terrorism Raju Memorial Sculpture organised to observe Abrar's 3rd death anniversary.
As the protest programme began, Chhatra League activists launched attacks from the university's Teacher-Student Centre, vandalised the chairs and public announcement system, tore off the posters and burned them.
They also chased Chhatra Adhikar Parishad men towards Shahbagh, brandishing chairs and sticks.
Some 15 COP activists were injured in the attack.
Moreover, some BCL activists again attacked the injured COP members while they were undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).
The eminent citizens believe that the police have set a bad example of the country's law and judiciary by arresting the injured COP activists instead of arresting those responsible for the attack.
They demanded the immediate release of the arrestees and government steps to ensure proper treatment of those injured.
The eminent citizens include – Professor Dr Anwarullah Chowdhury, former VC, Dhaka University (DU), Professor Abdul Latif Masum, former VC, Patuakhali University of Science and Technology, Professor Dr Dilara Chowdhury, political scientist, Professor Asif Nazrul, Department of Law, DU, Professor Dr Kamrul Ahsan, Department of Philosophy, Jahangirnagar University, Supreme Court (SC) Advocate Hasnat Qayyum, Professor Dr Am Arif Billah, former chairman, department of Persian and Urdu, DU, Professor Nasir Uddin Ahmed, Department of English, Jagannath University, Professor Mahbub Hossain, Brac University, Syed Abdal Ahmad, writer, former general secretary, National Press Club, Major General (retd) Amin, Ilyas Khan, general secretary, National Press Club, Shahidul Islam, general secretary, Dhaka Journalists Union, Barrister Shihab Uddin Khan, convener, Citizen Welfare and Development, Faiz Ahmad Tayyab, writer and researcher, Mahbub Morshed, journalist and fiction writer, Rakhal Raha, writer and researcher, Saqib Ali, former diplomat and coordinator, People's Activist Coalition, Salah Uddin Shubhra, fiction writer and journalist, Ehsan Mahmood, fiction writer and journalist, Zakaria Palash, writer and researcher, Shaukat Hossain, poet, and Tuhin Khan, poet, writer and activist.
