BNP, Yunus administration equally responsible: Dhaka students protest over trader's brutal murder

Dhaka, July 13 (IANS) Students in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, held a torch procession and rally on the campus of Jahangirnagar University (JU) to demand justice for a trader who was brutally murdered recently. The students expressed their frustration, stating that last year's protest in July was ineffective, as criminal activities have continued to rise even after a change in power, according to local media reports on Sunday.

The protest followed the gruesome murder of Lal Chand, also known as Sohag, a 39-year-old scrap trader from Old Dhaka.

The protestors condemned recent incidents of violence across the country, including killings and attacks driven by political and religious tensions, reported the leading Bangladeshi daily, The Dhaka Tribune.

The demonstration was organised under the banner of Jahangirnagar Against Repression.

The torch rally began Saturday at 8:30 p.m. from the base of the university's Shaheed Minar and moved through several parts of the campus before culminating at BotTala, where a protest rally was held.

Various student leaders and activists took part in the protest, voicing anger over what they described as a worsening human rights situation in the South Asian nation, despite the Muhhamad Yunus-led interim government assuming power.

Yunus administration promised to bring reforms after the July protests led to the ouster of the democratically elected government under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. However, since then, the law and order situation has further worsened in Bangladesh.

Sajib Ahmed Jenich, organiser of the Socialist Student Front (Marxist), JU unit, said during the rally: "Even after the interim government has taken charge, we still have to protest against enforced disappearances, murders, rapes and extrajudicial killings. This is deeply shameful for the nation."

He also directly linked the killing of Sohag to the failure of state institutions to act against politically protected criminals.

"When a murder isn't acknowledged as a crime and attempts are made to downplay it, criminals feel emboldened to commit more. Sohag was murdered over extortion; that responsibility lies not only with BNP but also equally with the current interim government," he said.

During the rally, one of the students protesting told The Dhaka Tribune, "After killing a man, they are jumping on his dead body to show their power. They think it's just another political incident. Can they confidently say that tomorrow they or their family members won't be killed by extortionists? If not, they must realise where we stand now, a year after the July uprising. The horror we lived through last July has only intensified. We did not see any meaningful results from that movement."

Earlier this week, Sohag was brutally murdered in broad daylight near the gate of Sir Salimullah Medical College, Mitford Hospital.

Witnesses reported that he was dragged from his shop, beaten with iron rods and chunks of concrete, and left lifeless on the street as passersby looked on in shock.

The students at JU vowed to continue their protests, demanding justice for Sohag and all victims of politically motivated and communal violence across the country.

--IANS

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