The University Teachers’ Network has expressed deep concern over a recent surge in mob violence across the country, accusing the BNP government of failing to curb vigilante attacks and demanding the immediate arrest of perpetrators.
In a statement issued on Monday, the network said Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed’s earlier assurance that “mob culture is over” following the new government’s assumption of office has proven hollow.
“With disappointment, we are witnessing that the BNP government is also demonstrating utter failure in curbing mob violence,” the statement read.
The network highlighted three recent incidents of mob violence in Shahbagh, Rangpur, and Kushtia’s Daulatpur upazila.
In Shahbagh on 10 April, a group of friends relaxing at their usual hangout spot were attacked and beaten. Among the victims were at least eight rights activists, including a private university teacher. Despite the incident occurring in front of Shahbagh Police Station, police remained silent spectators, and the station refused to accept an FIR, the statement alleged.
In Rangpur, following the killing of a young man named Rakib Hasan on 9 April, a mob of 40-50 people armed with sticks attacked shops and homes in a Hindu neighbourhood on 10 April. While police arrested four individuals over the murder, no action was taken against the mob violence targeting the Hindu community, the network said.
The most brutal incident occurred in Kushtia’s Philipnagar Union on 11 April, where a mob led by a political party leader attacked a shrine, killing its chief devotee and teacher Shamim Reza alias Jahangir. The attackers vandalised and set fire to his hermitage, accusing him of “blasphemy” over an old video clip circulating on social media.
The network also demanded the unconditional release of Sheikh Tasnim Afroz Emi, a Dhaka University student and anti-autocracy activist who was arrested after being attacked for playing the historic 7 March speech in public.
“Perpetrators roam freely outside, while the victim has remained imprisoned without any crime for over a month,” the statement said.
The teachers’ network called for immediate arrest and trial of the mob terrorists on charges of crimes against humanity, reinstatement of Sahara Chowdhury Rebyl’s student status, and attention to improving overall law and order and building a tolerant society.
The statement was signed by 58 teachers from various universities.
