Police obstructed the “March to Indian High Commission” programme right at its outset, which was organised to protest Indian hegemony and demand the extradition of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and others accused of crimes against humanity during the July Uprising.
Around 3pm on Wednesday, July Oikya, which claims to embody the spirit of 2024’s mass uprising, gathered at Rampura Bridge, with a significant percentage of the participants being students.
However, once obstructed by law enforcement forces, the procession was unable to proceed on its “March to High Commission,” settling for taking positions along Pragati Sarani.
Chanting slogans against Indian aggression, protesters demanded Sheikh Hasina’s extradition, accused in the July killings. They also demanded the arrest of those involved in the shooting of Inqilab Moncho’s Sharif Osman Hadi, who was shot in the head last Friday as part of an assassination attempt.
The Inqilab Moncho spokesperson was afterwards airlifted to Singapore on 15 December for treatment, and is currently stable and awaiting further surgery.
One of the activists, Shihab, said they wanted to inform the government that the people of the country are against Indian hegemony, which was the primary purpose of Wednesday’s protest programme.
Prior to this, citing the ongoing situation, Indian authorities declared the Indian Visa Center located inside Dhaka’s Jamuna Future Park closed from 2pm on Wednesday.
