Chhatra Dal leaves Shahbagh after 45 minutes, traffic movement normal
Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) has dispersed from the Shahbagh intersection in the capital. They blocked the Shahbagh intersection at around 3:30 pm today, Tuesday, demanding justice for the murder of Shahriar Alam Samyo, a leader of the Dhaka University unit of Chhatra Dal. The activists vacated the intersection after nearly 45 minutes of the blockade.
Around 5:15 pm, after the Chhatra Dal activists left the road, vehicular movement resumed at the Shahbagh intersection. During the blockade, a large number of activists chanted slogans such as “Justice, justice, we want justice,” “We demand justice for Samyo’s murder,” and “My brother lies in the grave, why is the killer still free?” They remained at Shahbagh despite the rain.
JCD central president Rakibul Islam and general secretary Nasir Uddin led the blockade Before leaving Shahbagh, Nasir Uddin said that if any more Chhatra Dal leaders or activists are attacked in Bangladesh, an stronger movement will be launched along with the general students.
Nasir Uddin also demanded the immediate resignation of the Vice-Chancellor and the Proctor of Dhaka University. He questioned why the CCTV footage of the incident has still not been collected, even so long after Shahriar’s murder.
Even last Sunday Chhatra Dal had blocked the Shahbagh intersection for nearly two hours in protest of alleged “negligence” in the investigation of Shahriar’s murder case. They demanded the prompt arrest and trial of the “real” killers. During that programme, Chhatra Dal’s top leaders accused the Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor and Proctor of failing to ensure student safety and called for their resignation. They also threatened to lay siege to the residence of the Chief Advisor in Jamuna if the government shows a lack of commitment to arrest and prosecute Shahriar’s killers.
On Tuesday night, Dhaka University student Shahriar Alam Samyo was killed in a stabbing by unidentified assailants near the open stage beside Suhrawardy Udyan, adjacent to the university campus. He was the literary and publications secretary of the university's Sir AF Rahman Hall unit of JCD. He was pursuing his postgraduate studies at the Institute of Education and Research.
Shahriar’s brother Shariful Islam filed a case at Shahbagh police station in connection to Shahriar's killing. Police have arrested three individuals in this case. The court has sent all three to jail.