Protests Proliferate Across Engineering Campuses Over Businessman’s Brutal Killing
Students from various engineering universities staged protest marches on Friday, July 11, condemning the brutal killing of a businessman by activists allegedly affiliated with the Jubo Dal near Mitford Hospital in Old Dhaka. The incident occurred after the businessman reportedly refused to pay extortion money.
Demonstrations were held throughout the evening and late into the night at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET), Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU), and Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU), among others.
At NSTU, BUET students led a protest march around 10:00 PM, culminating in a rally at the Raju Sculpture. There, students chanted slogans including, “The weapon of July will rise again.”
Similarly, students at DUET in Gazipur staged a protest at 10:00 PM, denouncing what they termed “a terrorist killing by Jubo Dal at Mitford” and the continued spread of extortion and violence nationwide.
In a brief rally following the march, protesters declared, “After the movement of ‘24, we are again witnessing a horrific spectacle of savagery—this surpasses even the era of ignorance (Ayyaam-e-Jaahiliyyah). We never imagined that just before the one-year anniversary of the July uprising, a new version of Awami League would emerge in Bangladesh. We could not foresee that Sheikh Hasina’s murder squads would return in the form of Tarique Zia’s killers. But this time we say clearly—even if Awami League managed to flee to India, you will not have that luxury.”
At HSTU, students initiated a march from the university’s main gate at 8:30 PM, passing through surrounding roads before concluding with a short rally. Protesters chanted slogans such as “Two-zero-two-four, no more extortion,” “My brother lies in the grave, why are the killers still free?”, “There’s no place in Bengal for extortionists,” and “We demand justice for Sohag’s murder.”
During the rally, students stated, “We strongly condemn the brutal killing of businessman Sohag by Jubo Dal operatives simply because he refused to pay extortion. After August 5, we do not want to see any party morph into a new autocracy. We want peace and discipline in this country. But since August 5, we have seen party members embroiled in infighting, extortion, and even rape. In fact, more of their own party members have died from internal clashes than were martyred in the July movement.”
They added, “Anyone attempting to establish autocracy again will be confronted by the same spirit of July. We are ready to rise up once more. We urge the interim government to take immediate action against the killers and extortionists. If you cannot take a firm stance against them, what is your role in government? Furthermore, we condemn those media outlets that failed to cover Wednesday’s killing due to partisan allegiance. We call on journalists and media policymakers to abandon such servitude and report the truth, regardless of political affiliation.”
