Students of Jagannath University (JnU) have staged a protest march condemning the public murder of a businessman named Sohag, in the compound of Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital in Old Dhaka.
The demonstration also protested the "extortion and terrorist activities" allegedly carried out by the BNP across the country.
The protest took place on Friday night, beginning at the university’s Shaheed Minar. The march proceeded through Ray Shaheb Bazar, Tati Bazar, Naya Bazar, and Mitford Hospital, before concluding with a brief rally beneath the Bhasha Shaheed Rafiq Building on the campus.
Speaking at the rally, Masud Rana, convener of the JnU branch of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said: “After August 5, we wanted an egalitarian, peaceful Bangladesh, free from extortion. From the afternoon Hasina left, one group began extortion. Abu Sayed’s, Shaheed Wasim’s, Shaheed Sajid’s brothers have not died. If needed, there will be another July.”
Md Nur Nabi, central joint convener of BAGCHAS, remarked: “This stone is not on my brother; it feels as though it fell on my chest. Just as Chhatra League killed Biswajit on this campus, the same kind of incident has repeated in Mitford. Not even 10 months have passed, and they have killed their own party people. Hasina’s responsibility did not pass to you. As we resisted the fascists on August 5, we will be compelled to resist them too.”
Md Foysal Murad, convener of the JnU branch of BAGCHAS, added, “After August 5, we wanted a peaceful campus. If our comrades are attacked, we will not sit idle. We will not allow the anarchy that has spread across the country. If needed, July will come again.”
Abdullah Al Arif, general secretary of the Islami Chhatra Shibir branch, questioned: “First, I want to ask the media: why did the video of July 9 only surface on July 11? What are you doing? What do you want to hide?”
Rayhan Hasan Rabbi, general secretary of the branch Chhatra Adhikar Parishad, said: “Not even a year has passed since the July uprising. Meanwhile, incidents are taking place where people are being killed in public with stones for not paying extortion money. We believe those involved in this killing cannot tolerate July. If BNP does not investigate this incident, we will question their politics in Bangladesh. And the interim government is seated with the people’s mandate, not with any party’s mandate. We demand justice for this.”
