Staff Reporter :
As the stand off continues over the quota reform movement, police continues harassing leaders of the moment at a time when concerned citizens and guardians of the students now being held in jail are calling for their immediate release.
To bring pressure on the anti-quota student leaders police started wider investigations into their political affiliation with opposition parties and groups and record of their phone calls and source of funding.
A section of the government leaders and ruling party affiliated student body reportedly believe that BNP and Jamaat people and their student wings are instigating the movement to sabotage the government.
Meanwhile incidents of expulsion of injured students from hospital at several places as they were receiving treatment after being beaten by ruling party student leaders have drew angry protest from all quarters.
Now at least 10 quota reform movement leaders are in jail in several police cases, which are blamed to be politically motivated to break the movement. Police officials said they are verifying the political involvement of the arrested students.
They also said they haven’t found any information on the political affiliation of the detained students with anti-government political organizations.
In April students across the country started demonstrating calling for reform of the existing quota system in government jobs to end deprivation of the mass students; which benefits pro-government political groups.
Two and a half months later nine leaders of the movement were shown arrested in connection with attack on the residence of the Dhaka University Vice Chancellor. Among the nine, eight were victims of the ruling party backed Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) assault and yet shown arrest blaming them for vandalism. Several of them were beaten and later delivered to police by BCL men.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) cyber crime unit have shown the joint convener of the movement Rashed Khan arrested in a case filed under the ICT act. BCL law secretary Al Nahian Khan has filed the case.
Police officials at Shahbagh police station said cyber crime unit is carrying the investigations of the cases. The detective branch officials are also working with the investigation.
They said they were looking into the political affiliation of the detained students and verifying information received before the arrests. The police are now checking if any anti-government political quarters had communication with the protesters during the movement and provided them directives and funds.
The cyber crime unit have taken Rashed Khan on five-day remand and interrogated.
Two senior officials of the unit said he admitted that the protesters at times held discussion with the activists of leftist student organisations and Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of BNP.
He said the leaders of the movement had sought help from all students in a reasonable movement. But the movement leaders took all the decisions together without outside interference.
The officials also said, no political affiliation of Rashed could be traced so far who comes from a poor family. Another official said, several closed Facebook group conversations Rashed participated were scrutinised. Financial transactions of about 30 bank accounts owned by the group members were also verified.
These accounts were opened in last April during the peak of the agitation to carry out the movement. The account numbers were provided in the Facebook posts that sought financial help for the purpose.
The law enforcers said, in most cases money transacted in these accounts, was no more than Tk 1000 at a time. Rashed said protesting students throughout the country had sent the donation money.
On Rashed’s political involvement, DMP cyber crime unit Deputy Commissioner Anisuzzaman however said, “We’re getting a lot of information. This is being verified. It’s not time to comment.”
Rashed was arrested from his father-in-law’s house in Bhashantek, Dhaka, following allegations of defaming the Prime Minister in a Facebook live speech.
The quota reform agitators claimed another protester Mahfuz was missing following Rashed’s arrest on Saturday night. They said Mahfuz was staying with Rashed in the same house. Mahfuz coming from from Gazipur is a student of Dhaka University.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said all the persons were arrested on specific reasons, either vandalising the VC’s residence or for violating the ICT act.
On political involvement of the students, he said, “Our police and detectives are investigating this. We have heard some rumors. Extensive investigation will be conducted to verify this.”
