Chattogram will be separated if delays continue, Inqilab Mancha leader warns govt

Leaders and activists of Inqilab Mancha’s Chattogram city and Chattogram University units brought out a protest procession demanding the arrest and trial of the killers of the organisation’s convener Sharif Osman bin Hadi. The procession started in front of Andarkilla Shahi Jame Mosque in Chattogram city after Jumma prayers on Friday.

The procession marched through different roads of the city and later turned into a rally at Kazir Dewri area. At around 2:30 pm, protesters staged a sit-in at Kazir Dewri intersection, chanting slogans such as “Who are you, who am I, Hadi, Hadi”. Placards reading “Justice for Hadi” were also seen.

At the beginning of the rally, former leader of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement in Chattogram, Ibne Hossain Ziad, said the interim government had started delaying the trial over Hadi’s killing. He warned that if justice was not ensured, movements would be launched demanding the removal of the law adviser, home adviser and the interim government.

July Oikya Chattogram chief coordinator Abrar Hasan Riyad alleged that a hurried and flawed charge sheet had been submitted in the Hadi murder case. He said incorrect information was included and the main accused were excluded. He demanded the submission of a correct charge sheet and arrest and trial of the main accused, otherwise tougher programmes would follow.

Inqilab Mancha Chattogram University unit convener Rafsan Rakib said the charge sheet did not reflect the true facts of the murder. He accused the interim government of deliberately prolonging the matter.

He said, “Is the interim government delaying matters with us? From Chattogram, I declare that if you continue to delay, Chattogram will be separated from Bangladesh.”

It may be noted that Osman Hadi was shot on December 12 in the Box Culvert Road area under Paltan Model Police Station in the capital. On December 14, Inqilab Mancha member secretary Abdullah Al Jaber filed a case over attempted murder. After Osman Hadi died on December 18 while undergoing treatment in Singapore, the case was converted into a murder case. On January 6, DB inspector Faisal Ahmed of Dhaka Metropolitan Police submitted a charge sheet against 17 people. Later, the complainant filed a no-confidence petition against the charge sheet in court.