Counter-marches broke out at Dhaka University around midnight following the circulation of a widely discussed video on social media.
One group of students marched under the leadership of a Ducsu secretary, while activists of the Jatiya Chhatra Shakti and a section of Chhatra Dal staged a separate procession.
The viral video shows several Chhatra Dal leaders vandalising a fried snacks stall with a hammer.
According to protesting students led by the Ducsu Literature and Cultural Secretary, the act was carried out by leaders and activists of Chhatra Shakti and Chhatra Dal because the stall owner had informed Ducsu about alleged extortion.
Although the video went viral on Saturday night, the accused claim the incident actually took place on the night of December 27 last year. When this reporter contacted the students accused of extortion, they showed another video in which a member of the university’s proctorial body can be seen breaking the shop, with Chhatra Dal and Chhatra Shakti leaders present at the scene.
The person seen smashing the shop with a hammer in the viral clip has been identified as Sayeed Hassan Saad, joint convener of Chhatra Dal at Bijoy Ekattor Hall.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, Saad said that he and another DU student, Abid Abdullah, jointly owned a snacks stall beside Hakim Chattar near the Central Library, which was removed during the eviction drive led by Sorbo Mitra Chakma.
He alleged that after the stall was removed, the person who later ran it was repeatedly picked up and beaten.
“Even though our stall was removed on the 27th, we went near TSC to see why only one fried-snacks shop was still operating there. We then called the proctorial team and cooperated with them. There is no involvement of extortion here,” he claimed.
However, Ducsu member Sorbo Mitra Chakma alleged that the shop was demolished because its owner had lodged a complaint with Ducsu regarding extortion.
Following this claim, a group of students led by Ducsu Literature and Cultural Secretary Mosaddiq Ibne Ali Mohammad held a protest around 1am.
Addressing the protest, Mosaddiq said: “The extortion exposed today is just a small example. Thousands of such incidents happen every day. These extortionists collect money at TSC, turn the area in front of the Central Library into a ‘New Market’, extort money in Nilkhet, and even do it by setting up shops under the metro rail.”
He demanded that Chhatra Dal and Chhatra Shakti take action against those accused, warning: “If you fail to take organisational action, we will consider the entire Chhatra Dal involved in this extortion, and as party chief, Tarique Rahman will also be held responsible.”
Immediately after the Ducsu protest ended, Chhatra Shakti brought out a procession at the same spot, with several Chhatra Dal activists also seen standing alongside them.
At the protest rally, Ferdous Aiyam, a 2021–22 session student of Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall, said that while smoking has been banned in university halls, Ducsu leaders distribute cigarettes through sponsors at concerts.
“We are not here to give anyone shelter,” he said. “If there are allegations, let them be investigated and action taken accordingly.”
He also questioned why student-run businesses are being demolished when hundreds of hawkers are allowed to operate on campus, and demanded that students be ensured the right to run their businesses.
Shahidullah Hall parliament member Riad Us Salehin said: “You (Sorbo Mitra) have taken Dhaka University towards an image where students are now seen as a mob. What you do reflects on students, because you claim to be their representative.”
“Interestingly, those who speak out against these issues are branded as extortionists,” he added.
Naimur Rahman, a student of the Arabic Department, said at the protest: “The Ducsu banner is being misused to create the rise of some ‘mobsters’ who roam the campus carrying out moral policing and various misdeeds. Sarbo Mitra Chakma is one of them.”
When contacted, DU Proctor Saifuddin Ahmed said he was not fully aware of the matter and that no written complaint had yet been submitted to the proctorial body. He added that the issue would be investigated once a complaint is received.
Asked whether members of the proctorial body were involved in the demolition of the mobile shop, he said the relevant video would be reviewed.
Meanwhile, Ducsu Social Welfare Secretary Jubair Bin Neshari (AB Jubayer) announced on social media that Ducsu would hold a press conference with evidence in front of the Ducsu building on Sunday at 12pm.
On the other hand, Dhaka University Chhatra Dal announced that it would submit a memorandum protesting the incident at the proctor’s office at 10am.