Inqilab Mancha ended its Shahbagh rally after issuing a 24-hour ultimatum to the Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury and Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant Khuda Bakhsh Chowdhury, demanding the arrest of the killers of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi.
They also demanded their resignation if they fail to respond within this time frame.
The organisation’s Member Secretary Abdullah Al Jaber announced the ultimatum and declared the end of the programme in front of the July Shaheed Memorial at the Shahbagh intersection at around 5:15pm on Saturday.
Earlier, the rally began at Shahbagh after the namaz-e-janaza of Osman Hadi at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad.
Due to the rally, all types of vehicular movement on the Shahbagh road came to a halt. Various slogans were chanted at the rally. In the afternoon, the protesters offered the Asr prayer on the Shahbagh road.
In his concluding speech at the rally, Abdullah Al Jaber placed two demands. He said, “Within the next 24 hours, the Home Adviser and the Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant must come before the public and say how far they have progressed over the past week. If they fail to answer, they must resign. Identify and arrest Awami terrorists hiding within military and civilian intelligence agencies.”
Addressing the protesters, he said, “We will always be here. But we want to give you some rest. You go home today. If there is no response from the government by 5:15 pm tomorrow, we will return here. We have made many concessions; we will make no more.”
Earlier, addressing the rally, Abdullah Al Jaber said, “There is a conspiracy to obstruct the election. Various domestic and foreign conspiracies are underway. They want to ensure that the struggle Osman Hadi had begun does not remain in focus. That is why you will see different people starting acts of sabotage in different places. Will we give them that opportunity? Our first demand is the arrest of the killers. All other discussions will come later. Discussions will begin with the arrest of the killers. There will be no discussion before that.”
Calling on everyone to remain calm to maintain overall stability in the country, he said,
“Bangladesh’s independence and sovereignty can no longer be mortgaged to Delhi. We believe in the country’s independence, sovereignty and stability. To ensure that no one can create any untoward situation, everyone must become a worker of Inqilab Mancha.”
Even after he announced the end of the programme, many people remained on the Shahbagh road. Limited vehicular movement resumed through the intersection at around 5:30 pm. Traffic returned to normal around 6:00 pm after the protesters dispersed.
