4 of them expelled from BCL but were very much active in its activities
The Prime Minister’s Office yesterday claimed none of the killers of Bishwajit Das have link to Bangladesh Chhatra League, even though it is beyond doubt that at least 10 of them were very much involved in BCL politics at Jagannath University. A section of teachers, students, journalists and BCL leaders of the university have confirmed to The Daily Star that the youths who beat and hacked to death Bishwajit during an opposition blockade on Sunday were influential BCL activists.
Photographs of the day support their version.
Hours before the killing, the pro-Awami League student body brought out a procession in which the killers walked side by side with Jagannath University BCL President FM Shariful Islam.
They were in the front row, a special privilege only important members enjoy.
The same youths marched again alongside the same leader after the incident.
On December 10, Shariful Islam told The Daily Star, “Those who took part in the attack participate in BCL activities regularly. They are not BCL members, but they regularly participate in our activities on the campus.”
Chhatra League insiders say some of the killers even submitted their resumes to the JnU BCL president and general secretary to get posts in the unit committee.
But PM’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad, during a press briefing at the PMO yesterday, denied their link to Chhatra League. He gave names of six alleged killers, portraying their families to be involved in BNP or Jamaat politics.
One of the six is Mahfuzur Rahman Nahid. A photograph obtained by The Daily Star shows him in the birthday party of the JnU BCL president Sunday afternoon, hours after Bishwajit succumbed to injuries.
Azad claimed Nahid and Obhidul Quader Tahsin had been involved in Shibir politics in the past. But he said nothing about the current political activities of the duo.
He also did not say anything about the political affiliation of the other four.
The press secretary’s statement rather focused on their family backgrounds. He didn’t forget to mention that Tahsin’s 10-year-old sister reads in class-V.
Names of Emdadul Haque, Rafiqul Islam Shakil and Noore Alam also came up in the statement.
The trio and along with another attacker, Mehedi Hasan, were expelled from BCL between 2009 and 2011 for stalking a female student, attacking a journalist on the campus and getting involved in factional feuds.
The Daily Star got a photograph that shows Nahid was in the front row along with other BCL leaders during a procession before the attack.
In another photo, Emdadul was right behind the JnU BCL president and general secretary in a procession after the incident.
This paper has already run reports on eight of the killers. Yesterday, it found identities of seven others.
This correspondent could not contact any of the seven as they were not available in the JnU campus yesterday. Their mobile phones were found switched off.
Yesterday was the first time since 2009 that no BCL activist was seen on the JnU campus.
Source: The Daily Star