Leaders and activists of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM) and the National Citizen Party (NCP) staged a protest in Rangpur on Thursday night, demanding the arrest of Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader and a ban on the party, during which his house was set on fire.
According to eyewitnesses, GM Quader arrived in Rangpur from Dhaka on Thursday afternoon. While speaking to journalists, he alleged that the Jatiya Party was being barred from engaging in any political activities and made several accusations against the government.
In response, the ADSM announced a sit-in protest at 7:30pm in front of the Rangpur Press Club. Over a hundred activists began protesting there, declaring they would not end their demonstration until GM Quader was arrested and the Jatiya Party was banned, as per eyewitnesses.
At one point, they marched from the Grand Palace Hotel intersection and gathered on the road opposite the BNP office. Around 8pm, more than a hundred activists proceeded toward GM Quader’s ancestral home in the Senpara area, about 1,000 yards away from the hotel, they said.
There, they threw bricks and stones at the house, breaking the window panes. The protesters then set fire to two motorcycles parked in front of the house, spreading panic in the area, eyewitnesses added.
Following the attack, the activists withdrew to the Senpara intersection, continuing their chants demanding GM Quader’s arrest and a ban on the party. By 9pm, they retreated to the Grand Palace Hotel intersection and eventually dispersed from there.
Meanwhile, Jatiya Party activists gathered at the party office on Central Road. Upon hearing about the incident, they rushed to GM Quader’s house armed with sticks and took control of the area.
Former city mayor and Jatiya Party Metropolitan President Mostafizar Rahman Mostafa, along with General Secretary SM Yasir and several hundred party activists, took up position in front of GM Quader’s residence. The opposing group took position at Town Hall, about 1.5 kilometres away.
Nazim, president of Jubo Songhoti who was at GM Quader’s house, confirmed that GM Quader was present during the attack.
Expressing anger over the sudden assault, he questioned where GM Quader could go in such a situation.
Jatiya Party leader Mostafizar condemned the attack as unfortunate and criticized the administration for taking no action.
SM Yasir echoed the same sentiment and blamed the ADSM, the NCP, and some other political groups for the incident. He said that the party would hold a meeting to decide on a strong course of action.
Metropolitan Kotwali police station’s OC was present at the scene but declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Nahid Khondoker, a leader of the ADSM, alleged that Jatiya Party activists had attacked them.
