Chaos, clash mark BCL council
The council of Chittagong north district unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) was foiled yesterday due to a clash among the activists.
At least 15 BCL leaders and activists were injured in the factional clash, said Jashim Uddin, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station.
The council, which was being organised after long eight years, was taking place at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB), in Chittagong city.
At one point of the council around 12:30pm when BCL central Vice President Sakib Hossain was delivering speech, a hand-made bomb exploded at the left side of the venue, leading to a scuffle among the BCL activists, said witnesses.
At that time, chief guest of the council Engr Mosharraf Hossain, also Awami League presidium member, and SM Zakir Hossain, central general secretary of BCL, were present.
Soon chaos overtook the entire venue and BCL activists were hurling chairs to one another.
Engr Mosharraf was even asking the BCL activists to settle down through a loud speaker, said the witnesses.
At one stage, he announced that those who were creating chaos were outsiders and asked the police to arrest them.
Of the injured, five BCL activists were given treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH), said Assistant Sub-Inspector Alauddin Talukder of CMCH Police Camp.
Abu Tayeb, general secretary of the immediate past committee of Chittagong north district unit, blamed outsiders, especially Jamaat and Shibir intruders, for the unprecedented chaos in the first session.
Contacted, Zakir Hossain said the first session of the council concluded in due time despite some chaos.
“The second session took place in Zila Parishad Auditorium of the city where we talked to senior leaders and councilors of the unit to know their preference in the upcoming committee,” he told The Daily Star around 3:30pm.
Asked about the reason behind the chaos, the central BCL leader said the clash took place due to “misunderstanding” among the activists.
The old committee was dissolved in the first session, he said, adding that the new committee would be announced soon.
Kotwali police said no case was filed in this regard.
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