Shibir men in Chhatra League guise were part of repression in DU halls, alleges Kader

“Due to being resident students in dormitories (known as halls), some of the students with links to Islami Chhatra Shibir who became actively involved with Chhatra League were, in fact, overzealous in certain actions as a way to overcome their identity crisis,” said Abdul Kader, convener of Bangladesh Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad’s Dhaka University unit and former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.

In a Facebook post on Sunday night, Abdul Kader accused Islami Chhatra Shibir members of having been involved in student repression under the banner of Chhatra League during the Awami League’s time in power. He alleged that several such individuals in different halls were originally associated with Shibir.

In his post, he wrote, “Those who came from Shibir background became radical in order to prove themselves as true Chhatra League men.”

He also alleged that Shadik Kayem, then president of Shibir’s DU unit, personally lobbied on behalf of some of these individuals, who had been involved in Chhatra League-led repression.

Kader wrote, “On the night of 22 January, 2023, Shahriyat, a student from the 2019–20 session of Bijoy Ekattor Hall, was beaten throughout the night by Chhatra League activists. The attack was led by one Mazedur Rahman. I knew him as he was from my neighbourhood. As we were students of the same madrasa I knew he used to be involved in Shibir politics. After coming to the campus (DU), he turned into a brutal oppressor.”

Musaddiq Billah, Office Secretary in the last DU Chhatra League committee and a 2017–18 session student from my district, came from a Jamaat family. He was once a Shibir affiliate, but for the sake of position, he became an extreme Chhatra League loyalist. Despite not holding any earlier posts, he managed to grab the Office Secretary position directly—imagine the level of loyalty he had to prove, the extent to which he had to embody the Chhatra League identity!”

He also named Afzalun Naeem from the 2016–17 session of Jasimuddin Hall, notorious for abuse in the guest room.

“Students were fed up with Naeem’s oppression. Yet now he serves as a special assistant to Shibir’s iconic leader Shishir Monir. Elias Hossain, of the 2016–17 session from Mujib Hall, was known as a terror to juniors. He did politics with Sanjit, was a hall candidate, used to force students into rallies, inflicted unbearable mental torture in the guest room, and even got a position in Chhatra League. After 5 August, Elias reemerged as a senior Shibir leader, often seen with Shibir’s imams.”

Kader alleged that in 2017, five students in Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall were brutally tortured overnight and driven out for merely liking Islamic pages on Facebook, suspected of being Shibir affiliates. A case was filed against 13 Chhatra League leaders for this.

Shahadat Hossain Sohel, former sports secretary of the hall, checked a student’s phone and suddenly launched the attack. Shahadat was widely known as a Shibir man. He further alleged that after a Facebook post on Shahadat, Sadiq Kayem called the poster asking not to implicate Shahadat, insisting he was a good person.

Kader wrote that taking high positions in Chhatra League was part of Shibir’s strategy.

“Since they were hall or campus candidates, they had to adopt Chhatra League’s operational style—taking students to rallies, occupying rooms, or engaging in forced attendance. Their sole objective was to grab positions.”
He added, “Behind many hall candidates were hidden Shibir operatives who were masters of flattery and sycophancy.

One such person, he claimed, was Hasanul Banna of Zahurul Haq Hall (2021–22), who declared himself a Shibir member after 5 August and is now a senior leader of the hall’s Shibir unit.”

Kader further wrote about Raihan Uddin of AF Rahman Hall (2018–19), a once-active Chhatra League activist who helped write speeches for hall candidates and accompanied them constantly.

“He was a loyal follower of Riaz, the infamous Chhatra League president of that hall. After 5 August, he emerged as a senior Shibir leader, created a new Facebook ID, but couldn't erase traces of his past.”

He continued, “After 5 August, I spoke with Shadik Kayem about bringing these infiltrators who actually acted like Chhatra League to justice. Lists of hall-level abusers were being made. One day over phone, I asked him about Hasan Sayeedi from Ekattor Hall and Tanvir Hasan Shanto from Rahman Hall, who were Shibir men but committed crimes under Chhatra League. Would he file cases against them? Sadiq replied, ‘You go ahead.’ I said, there’s no ‘us’ or ‘you’ here—we’re compiling the list together. But eventually, neither Sayeedi nor Shanto was named in the case.”

“Sayeedi was an associate of Shibir. He later joined Chhatra League’s Ekattor Hall unit and committed countless crimes. He used to do politics with Ekattor Hall’s notorious thug Abu Yunus. Due to his Shibir background, he didn’t receive posts for a long time. Frustrated, he became more radical to prove himself. Also, his name being ‘Sayeedi’ blocked his getting post—so he changed it on paper to ‘Saeed’! Eventually, through vile conduct, he passed the vetting and became deputy office secretary of Chhatra League. Later, he did politics with Saikat and became a hall candidate.”

Kader added, “In late February 2024, Sayeedi and others abducted two businessmen and held them in Mohsin Hall for three days. He was arrested and expelled from Chhatra League. But he resumed his politics and criminal acts after release. On 15 July, when students injured in a Chhatra League attack went to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment, Sayeedi attacked them again! The video still exists. Yet after 5 August, Sayeedi was beyond legal reach and even began praising Shibir on Facebook. Later, with help from university authorities, Sayeedi appeared in exams at the Leather Engineering Institute instead of FBS (where he was a finance student). When local students noticed, they detained him. Shadik Kayem then called the students pleading for his release. They ignored the lobbying and handed him to police. But the officer initially refused to take the case. Another Shibir leader reportedly also contacted the proctor to protect Sayeedi. Eventually, due to students’ firm stance, the police accepted the case. Yet, shockingly, Sayeedi was released from jail within a week, even though such bail is rare in July-related cases. Imagine the level of lobbying and links!”

“There was no shortage of such hidden Shibir men inside Chhatra League who practiced its culture,” he wrote.

He further alleged that after 5 August, batch representatives and hall discipline committees were formed under Shibir’s ‘prescription’.

“One can tell from their political affiliations. Online voting systems were manipulated to ensure Shibir-affiliated candidates won as class representatives. These representatives acted as shadow hall administrations and later took charge of making the Chhatra League member list—excluding their own affiliates from the list.

About the two cases filed after the July incident, Kader wrote, “Mahim Sarkar and Arman Hossain filed the two cases. Sadiq Kayem met them and lobbied to exclude certain individuals. He even handed them a list. Later, Arman found out those names were indeed connected to Shibir. One even confessed directly to him and pleaded to be left out!

Abu Shadik Kayem, former president of Shibir’s Dhaka University unit and current central publication secretary, told Prothom Alo on Sunday night, “I’ve had no such discussion with Kader. What he wrote on Facebook is not true. Regarding the case, I only messaged Arman to ensure no innocent students are harassed.”

However, Abdul Kader, known for his role in last year’s anti-discrimination student movement, claimed the promises of July uprising could not be upheld due to such lobbying.

He added in his Facebook post, “Everyone tried to protect their own people. As a result, the July attackers got off scot-free. Shibir now denies having anyone inside Chhatra League. They should publish their hall and DU unit committee lists of the past decade then everything would be clear. They can even publish their current hall committees. What are they afraid of after 5 August? Because their past deeds and current roles in hall politics will be exposed.”