The Chattogram University (CU) units of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) and Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir staged rival protest marches on the campus on Tuesday night.
The demonstrations followed a clash between the supporters of the two student organisations at Chattogram City College earlier in the day.
The JCD unit was the first to take to the streets, launching a procession from the university’s Zero Point at 9:45 pm. The march proceeded through Suhrawardy Hall, entered through the AF Rahman Hall gate, passed Alaol Hall, and concluded at Gate No 2.
During the protests , JCD activists chanted slogans such as “Break the black hands of the Guptos (secret ones),” and “Catch Shibir one by one and put them in jail”.
Following the march, a rally was held, moderated by JCD Senior Joint General Secretary Md Yasin. Addressing the gathering, Organisational Secretary Sajjad Hossain Hridoy alleged that those who previously tortured students in “secret” had attacked general students.
“This is not the era of the 90s’ tendon-cutting. We will smash the black hands of the ‘Guptos’ alongside the students,” he stated.
CU JCD General Secretary Abdullah Al Noman demanded a ban on “secret politics” across all educational institutions and called for the removal of “Rajakars and Al-Badrs” holding important university posts.
Shortly after the JCD programme, Chhatra Shibir launched a counter-procession from Zero Point at 10:30 pm. Their route covered Suhrawardy Hall, Alaol Hall, and the security office road before returning to Zero Point. Activists shouted slogans including “Blood is on fire,” “Break the hideouts of terrorists,” and “Who are you calling ‘Gupto’? You were in London”.
At a subsequent rally moderated by Shibir Publicity Secretary Ishaq Bhuiyan, Organisational Secretary Habibullah Khaled warned that “attacks will be met with counter-attacks” and called on the educated society to speak out against terrorist activities.
Ibrahim Hossain Roni, identified as the CUCSU VP and unit Chhatra Dal President in the reports, also addressed the Shibir gathering.
He criticised the use of the term “Gupto” to destabilise the campus. “We wanted everyone to coexist harmoniously. Do not try to heat up the campus again by inventing this word,” he said, questioning where such leaders had been in previous years. He further demanded the immediate arrest of those involved in the City College incident to prevent the situation from escalating across campuses.
