Arrest of BCL Man Sparks Protest
IU BCL, locals barricade Kushtia-Khulna highway
A faction of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) Islamic University (IU) unit and local supporters yesterday barricaded the Kushtia-Khulna highway for about two hours protesting arrest of BCL activist Ali Murtoza Khasru.
According to sources, police arrested Khasru while searching a Kushtia bound bus from Dhaka at Bheramara at about 10:30 pm on Wednesday. Khasru was a student of Bangla department and an aspirant for general secretary post in the next council of Chhatra League Islamic University unit scheduled for February 5.
After the news spread, BCL activists loyal to Khasru and a group of local people barricaded the Kushtia-Khulna highway at about 7:30 am disrupting the normal plying of vehicles till 9:30 am.
Khasru hailed from Padamdi village close to the university campus.
The protesters locked the main gate of the university and stopped plying of university vehicles. At a stage, they also locked the administration building of the university.
According to UNB, the BCL men also ransacked the office of Islamic University Proctor Mahbubul Arefin and damaged a vehicle on the highway during the barricade.
A chase and counter-chase between law enforcers and activists of Chhatra League occurred leaving 10 people injured.
Nine of the injured were identified as Chhatra League activists Arif, Asad, Ashraf, Shahid, Malek and police Sub-inspector Sazzad, constable Hasan and two local journalists Zakir and Rony, the news agency said.
On information, police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) forces from Kushtia and Jhenidah rushed to the campus. Vice-Chancellor Prof M Alauddin also visited the campus and talked to the Chhatra League men.
Being assured by the vice chancellor, they withdrew the road barricade. However, examinations and classes were postponed.
According to police, they arrested Khasru following a tip-off that the arrestee was planning to create anarchy on the campus before the council of BCL.
Police said they raided Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall of the university on November 19 last year following an information that Khasru kept firearms at the hall.
Police later recovered three LG guns from an abandoned room of the hall.
Police said since then they were looking for Khasru.
Additional police superintendent of Kushtia Subash Chandra Saha told journalists that they are interrogating Khasru.
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