All the 20 activists of Moulik Bangla, a cultural organisation, who were staging a long march, were injured as miscreants swooped on the long march in Bagerhat’s Rampal yesterday.
The long march began on August 8 with a demand that the Rampal Power Plant project sight be shifted from the current location which is close to the Sundarbans.
A group of miscreants, numbering 70-80, swooped on the long march activists when they were arranging their stage for the long march programme around 2pm, leaving all of the activists injured. The miscreants also seized the laptops of the activists, two cameras and five mobile phones during the attack.
Critically injured Zahid Hasan, Kuasha, Opu Islam Dwip and Prince were admitted to Khulna Medical College Hospital, while the other injured received first aid at a local hospital.
Moulik Bangla Office Secretary Md Sabuj Khalifa told the Dhaka Tribune that the miscreants used lethal weapons to carry out the attack, adding that two of their activists were missing since the attack.
Meanwhile, a press release of the Gana Odhikar Sangram Committee yesterday condemned the attack on Moulik Bangla activists.
The press release claimed that local pro-Awami goons carried out the attack.
Ehtesham Uddin, coordinator of the Gana Odhikar Sangram, demanded that the culprits be arrested and punished soon.
Terming the Rampal project an anti-people project, Ehtesham also urged the people to unite against project for protecting the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world.