'BCL men' beat up quota reformists
A group of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) men yesterday attacked quota reformists at Dhaka University's Teachers Student Centre (TSC) area, leaving at least five of them injured, claimed Bangladesh Sadharan Chhatra Adhikar Sangrakkhan Parishad.
The injured -- Bin Yeamin Mollah, Tarek Rahman, Ahmed Kabir, Jashim Uddin Akash and Sohrab Hossain -- are all joint conveners of the Parishad, a platform that spearheaded the quota reform movement.
BCL men carried out the attack half an hour prior to their programme, scheduled to be held at the base of Raju Memorial Sculpture at 3pm.
Witnesses claimed that a group of people attacked the quota reformists when they were going to get lunch. The attackers allegedly padlocked the gate of TSC and beat them up.
Of the attacked, Sohrab Hossain was critically injured and is now undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Rest of the injured took primary treatment there.
Talking to The Daily Star, Bin Yeamin Mollah said they were supposed to hold a human chain demanding a violence-free election, under the banner “Nirapad Bangladesh Chai” (We want a safe Bangladesh).
“At around 2:30 pm, when we went inside TSC to have lunch, around 20 to 25 BCL men including Shahidul Shan, school affairs secretary of Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall unit and Sohanur Rahman, vice president of Ziaur Rahman Hall, attacked us without any provocation,” Yeamin claimed.
“They hurled abuses, punched, kicked and slapped us mercilessly, he added.”
The victims alleged that all BCl men are followers of BCL's DU unit President Sanjit Chandra Das.
Contacted, Sanjit said he was unaware of the attack and would look into the matter.
Asked about the attack, DU Proctor Prof AKM Golam Rabbani said no one has filed any compliant to him regarding the incident.
“But I sent the proctorial team there after being informed about the chaos. Quoting witnesses, they told me that a group was trying to stage a programme which caused a scuffle between two groups,” said the proctor.