Staff Reporter:
Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders have accused quota protesters of attacking students who refused to join their rallies at Dhaka University’s Bijoy Ekattor Hall. According to BCL leaders, the protesters, who claimed to be conducting a non-violent movement, were armed with sticks and rods.
Referring to visuals, Chhatra League leaders said protesters demanding quota reforms “vandalized the front gate of the hall.” Several activists and general students were assaulted as they declined to join the quota protests, they said.
Citing media reports, they alleged that the protesters brought outsiders onto the campus and circulated a rumor from the base of the Raju Sculpture that students were locked in the hall. Subsequently, protesters armed with sticks rushed to the hall and attacked students who refused to join them, according to Chhatra League leaders.
“Over a dozen of our activists were injured, many with head injuries,” said Tanvir Hasan Saikat, general secretary of Chhatra League’s DU unit. “How can they go on a rampage and yet call themselves peace-ful?” he questioned.
Chhatra League Central Committee General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Inan described the incident as an attempt to destabilize the campus, claiming it was directed by Islami Chhatra Shibir and associated forc-es. Referring to the historical role played by Dhaka University students during the Language Movement and Liberation War, Inan said, “How can they disregard the war crimes orchestrated on the campus by the Pakistan army facilitated by collaborators, and glorify war criminals?”
The Chhatra League leaders added that Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, has infiltrated the movement and is now trying to destabilize the situation on campus. They said that with respect to the logical demand of quota protesters, Chhatra League stands with general students but opposes “hijacking” the movement.
