A group of students from the University of Dhaka staged a protest procession and rally on Friday in response to the brutal daylight murder of scrap trader Lal Chand, also known as Sohag, 39, in front of Sir Salimullah Medical College (Mitford) Hospital in Old Dhaka and against the ongoing extortion allegedly carried out by BNP across the country.
The protest began around 07:30pm from the university’s dormitory area and concluded at the Raju Memorial Sculpture after a brief rally at the VC Chattar.
Bin Yamin Molla, president of the Bangladesh Student Rights Council, said: “Today, students are protesting the murder of Sohag just as they did during the Awami League’s tenure. The BNP has failed to control its own leaders and activists. They were oppressed for the last 16 years, but if the oppressed now become the oppressors..."
DU student AB Zubayer commented: “Since August 5, we have tried to bring order to the nation, but one party alone has stood in the way. Sohag was killed two days ago and the video has now surfaced. He was brutally murdered with stones for refusing to pay extortion to members of the so-called nationalist extortionist party. Are we regressing to the Stone Age?”
He further alleged that BNP leaders and activists are committing acts of extortion, rape and murder across the country, turning it into a safe haven for extortionists.
Addressing BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, Zubayer said: “Control your party. Do not follow in the footsteps of the Awami League. If you do, you will face the same consequences.”
Protesting students claimed that Sohag was gruesomely murdered with stones by members of Jubo Dal over extortion. They alleged that the perpetrators danced on his body after the killing.
The students said that the people of Bangladesh, along with the student community, were united in their demand for justice in the face of such a heinous crime.
They called for the perpetrators, whom they referred to as extortionist terrorists, to be held accountable.
Citing allegations that the BNP had been responsible for the killing of 100 people over the past 10 months, the protesters demanded justice for every life lost.
