Four banned BCL leaders handed over to police during BCS protesters’ hunger strike

Police said four leaders of the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League were taken to a police station from a hunger strike by candidates excluded from the gazette for the 45th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination, held in front of the Raju Sculpture at Dhaka University.

The incident took place at around 12:15 am early Friday. Police said the four men admitted at the scene that they had held positions in Chhatra League.

According to eyewitnesses and police, candidates excluded from the gazette for the 45th BCS examination began their hunger strike at the Raju Sculpture on Wednesday afternoon.

After receiving information that activists of the banned Chhatra League were among them, several Chhatra Dal leaders and activists, including Nasir Uddin Shawon, senior joint general secretary of Dhaka University Chhatra Dal, went to the site. In the presence of the university’s proctorial team, the four men were handed over to police.

The detainees were identified as Ferdous Khan, former assistant secretary of the Chhatra League unit at Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall of Dhaka University; Ekram Gazi Hridoy, former vice-president of the Chhatra League unit at Amar Ekushey Hall; Md Habibul Islam, former deputy general secretary of the Chhatra League unit at Ashraful Haque Hall of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU); and Moniruzzaman Monir, former education and study circle secretary of the Chhatra League unit at the same hall at BAU.

Chhatra Dal leader Nasir Uddin Shawon said, “We found four leaders and activists of the banned Chhatra League at the hunger strike. They had held various positions in the organisation. Police later arrived and took them away.”

Sub-Inspector Kamal Uddin, in-charge of the Nilkhet police outpost, said police went to the scene through the Dhaka University proctorial team. After confirming that the four men had held positions in the banned Chhatra League, police took them to Shahbagh Police Station for questioning. Legal action would be taken against them after verification, he added.