Marking International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Islami Chhatra Shibir’s Islamic University (IU) chapter staged a protest march demanding the whereabouts of two missing IU students, Waliullah and Al Muqaddas, and exemplary punishment for those responsible for their disappearance.
The protest march began around 1 p.m. Sunday from the university’s Bottola area. The march circled various dormitories and the main road on campus before ending in front of the main gate, where organization leaders and activists held a brief rally.
During the march, Chhatra Shibir leaders and activists chanted various slogans demanding the whereabouts of Waliullah and Al Muqaddas, including “Naraye Takbir, Allahu Akbar,” “Islami Chhatra Shibir, Zindabad Zindabad,” “Why was brother Woli disappeared, administration must answer,” “Why was brother Muqaddas disappeared, administration must answer,” “Justice, justice, we want justice,” and “We want brother Woli found, you must deliver.” Protesters also chanted various slogans against the Awami League.
Participants in the march included IU Chhatra Shibir chapter president Md Yousuf Ali, secretary Rashedul Islam Rashed, Kushtia district Chhatra Shibir president Md Imran Biswas, along with leaders and activists at various levels and roughly 200 students.
At the rally, IU Chhatra Shibir chapter president Md Yousuf Ali said roughly 1,900 enforced-disappearance complaints were filed after the interim government was formed following the 2024 student-public uprising. Of these, he claimed, 1,559 complaints have been proven true. According to him, 251 people are still unaccounted for, leaving their families in anguish and waiting.
He said: “The whereabouts of the missing must be established immediately. If they are no longer alive, at the very least, the location of their graves must be delivered to their families.”
Speaking on the two missing IU students, Waliullah and Al Muqaddas, Yousuf Ali said that despite a long time having passed, their whereabouts remain unknown, leaving students and their families in distress. He demanded that those responsible for their disappearance be identified, brought under the law, and given exemplary punishment.
He alleged that despite complaints related to the disappearances, several implicated teachers and officials continue to hold their posts. He also questioned the open movement of several individuals linked to the former Chhatra League.
Questioning the investigation committee’s progress, the Chhatra Shibir chapter president demanded a clear progress report from the committee within the next week. Otherwise, he warned, they would launch a movement together with general students to hold the university administration accountable.
He further said students expect the current university administration to overcome past failures, take effective steps to find the two missing students, Waliullah and Al Muqaddas, and take necessary action against those involved in their disappearance.
Waliullah and Al Muqaddas, both Islamic University students, have been missing for a long time. Students and others concerned have held various programs at the university over time demanding their whereabouts. Marking International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the university chapter of Chhatra Shibir renewed that demand with Sunday’s protest march.