Retired defence officials, families hold procession in Dhaka

Residents in the capital’s Mirpur DOHS (Defence Officer Housing Scheme) brought out a mass procession and held a rally amid heavy rains on Friday, expressing solidarity to the ongoing student movement across the country.

Several thousand people joined the programme chanting slogans demanding the trial of the killings of more than 200 people including students.

Participants were seen carrying a banner inscribing ‘the call of retired defence officers, JCO and others’ in front of the procession.

The Mirpur DOHS is one of several Defence Officer Housing Scheme (DOHS) in the country. A DOHS is mainly a residential area of retired defence personnel.

Witnesses said the procession started at 5:00 pm and paraded the entire DOHS area and ended in front of the DOHS Cultural Centre. Family members of the retired defence officials, especially women, also participated in the programme.

At the procession, various slogans including ‘We want justice’, ‘Who are we, who are we? Razakar, Razakar. Who said it, who said it? Dictator, Dictator.’ ‘My brothers are in grave, Killers are at large.’

The procession was followed by holding a rally where several retired senior army persons addressed the gathering expressing their support to the on-going movement.

The rally also protested and condemned the attacks of Bangladesh Chhatra League and ‘helmet force’ in coordination of the police to search students at the Mirpur DOHS on 18 July.