Bangladesh Chhatra Moitree President Bappaditya Basu yesterday sought security from the government for himself and his family members, stating that he has become a target for Jamaat-Shibir attacks due to the daily Amar Desh's smear campaigns.
Addressing a press conference in Dhaka University's Madhur Canteen, he demanded immediate arrest of the daily's Editor Mahmudur Rahman and removal of the daily's office from a government building in the capital's Karwan Bazar.
Bappaditya also filed a general diary with Shahbagh police accusing Mahmudur of publishing “false”, “fabricated” and “motivated” stories and editorials labelling him as a “killer, activist of Purbo Banglar Communist Party and a fascist”.
He said Amar Desh, Diganta Television and Naya Diganta started a smear campaign, trying to portray activists at the forefront of the Shahbagh movement as atheists and to mobilise public opinion against the movement.
The daily published a news on February 12 which roughly translates as “killer Bappaditya in leadership of Shahbagh movement” and another as “Bappaditya and BCL cadres threaten Mahmudur Rahman from February 15 grand rally”, he said.
The second news read that BCL President Bodiuzzam Sohag threatened Asif Nazrul with death from the grand rally at Shahbagh on February 15. Bappaditya urged the media to recheck video clips to see if Sohagh even spoke at the rally.
The daily also published one editorial and a post editorial on February 17 and 23 respectively, branding him a fascist. Bappaditya termed the publication of these motivated stories a plot of Jamaat-Shibir.
Days before blogger Rajib Haidar's killing on February 15, anti-Islam blog posts were published in his name, he said.
Bangladesh Chhatra Moitree will bring out countrywide rallies on February 26 protesting the smear campaign. The rally in Dhaka will be from TSC to Shahbagh at 4:00pm, he said.