Islami Chhatra Shibir leaders warned Wednesday that the government would face serious consequences if it did not curb what they described as Chhatra Dal violence on university campuses.
They made the remarks at a student gathering at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka, organized to demand implementation of the July Charter, prosecution of killings and protests against alleged attacks at Jagannath University, Dhaka College, Dhaka Alia and other institutions.
Shibir central president Nurul Islam alleged that people involved in attacks on campuses were outsiders rather than students, and said many people appointed to Chhatra Dal committees had completed their student lives 15 to 20 years ago. The allegations were not independently verified.
He also alleged that hired people from Narayanganj and Keraniganj had been brought to campuses and that attacks had targeted elected student representatives, sleeping students and students at Dhaka Graphics Arts College.
Nurul Islam said Shibir would resist violence in the streets if Chhatra Dal and what he described as BNP-backed outsiders were not controlled. He accused the government of seeking to revive hall takeovers, mass rooms and guest rooms on campuses.
He said Shibir had repeatedly appealed for calm, while alleging that police had failed to stop attackers who carried machetes, grease, spades and revolvers. He urged coexistence on every campus and said the government would bear responsibility for further bloodshed. Those claims were made by Shibir leaders.
Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary Hamidur Rahman Azad said Chhatra Dal was trying to occupy campuses and return to extortion and tender manipulation, an allegation that was not independently verified. He urged immediate implementation of the July Charter.
Other speakers, including former Shibir leaders Rafiqul Islam Khan and Shafiqul Islam Masud, made similar allegations against Chhatra Dal, police and the government and called on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to take action.
The gathering was chaired through by Shibir secretary general Sibgatullah and attended by Shibir leaders, representatives of universities and educational institutions, activists and students.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report