Cumilla BCL leader resigns as student wing faces allegations of beating anti-quota protestors

At least 50 students protesting for quota reinstatement were trapped and beaten at Comilla University yesterday afternoon (15 July) allegedly by Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL). 

Several of the protesting students were injured in the incident, with four of them admitted to the hospital in critical condition, said the protestors. 

Meanwhile, Nusrat Jahan Souravi, a BCL leader at the Nawab Faizunnesa Chowdhurani Hall branch of Comilla University, resigned from her position in protest of the attack on students. 

“I voluntarily resign from my position as the organisational secretary at Nawab Faizunnesa Hall branch of the Chhatra League. I am ashamed to have been involved with such an organisation,” Souravi wrote in a Facebook post last night.  

When asked about her resignation, she said, “You are a human, and so am I. You know what is happening in the country. Considering the humanitarian aspect, I have resigned from my position in the Chhatra League.”

Yesterday afternoon, the students protesting for quota reinstatement were preparing for a demonstration at the Cumilla Zila School premises as per a pre-scheduled programme involving students from Buet, Dhaka University, Comilla University, Comilla Victoria Government College, and affiliated colleges of the National University. 

During this time, they were allegedly chased and forced into various rooms of the Zila School building under the leadership of Nur Mohammad Sohel, president of Cumilla Metropolitan Chhatra League. 

The protestors said they were subjected to over an hour of torture using local weapons, resulting in several injuries, with four in serious condition. 

They said the injured were admitted to various hospitals in the city. During the attack, students from Buet, DU, and the National University were separated, with Buet students receiving the brunt of the violence.

The protestors also claimed Chhatra League members reportedly caused cocktail explosions outside and eventually removed the activists from the school two at a time following the assault.

When asked, Nur Mohammad Sohel denied being involved in any such incidents.

“We did not attack anyone. We had set up help desks to facilitate the admission of students at various government colleges. We were busy with that work,” he said. 

When asked who attacked the quota protestors at Zila School, he said, “I do not know.”

Firoz Hossain, the officer-in-charge of Cumilla’s Kotwali Model police station, said, “We went to the site after receiving reports of disorder, but the situation had calmed down by then.”