Chaotic end at Students Against Discrimination’s discussion in Bogura

A meeting organised by Students Against Discrimination (SAD) in Bogura has been postponed due to factional clash inside the student body.

Mahin Sarkar, the central coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement, and his team faced obstacles when they came to carry out the pre-arranged programme in Bogura. They left the meeting place in the face of protests from a group of general students. They were held hostage for about three hours.

Allegations have been raised that those who created a chaotic situation at the meeting venue in the name of general students are actually leaders and activists of Islami Chhatra Sibir.

A student-citizen views exchange meeting was scheduled to be held on Thursday (September 12) at 3:00pm on Government Azizul Haque College ground in Bogura. Mahin Sarkar and his men were attacked as soon as they reached there. More than 300 students under the banner of general students prevented them from carrying out the programme. Later, Mahin and his associates went to the college building for safety. There they were held hostage.

At that time, law enforcement officers along with the army were stationed on the college premises to control the situation. In this situation, there was tension between the two sides in the college campus, but no violent incident happened.

Later, around 6:00 pm, the students who blocked the programme of SAD left the college premises. However, while staying in the college premises, they shouted various slogans including calling Mahin Sarkar and all those who were with him fake coordinators.

The students who opposed the Mahin Sarkar were led by one Saklayen Sadiq. He told Views Bangladesh that Mahin Sarkar came to Bogura without talking to everyone. If he had come to attend the programme after consulting everyone, there would have been no problem. Now Sarjis Alam or Hasnat Abdullah must come to carry out the Bogura programme. Everyone wants them.

Asked whether there is any difference of opinion between Sarjis Alam and Abul Hasnat, he said, "We don't want to say anything about it for now."

Meanwhile, Niyati Sarkar Neetu, a member of the coordinating committee of Bogura announced by Mahin Sarkar, the central coordinator of the movement, claimed to Views Bangladesh that everyone was informed in advance about today's programme.

“However, some Chhatra Shibir activists have created this problem. They created chaos at the event to exert muscle power to establish their supremacy,” she added.