Abir Rayhan :Students and activists of various organisations yesterday took to the streets, staged sit-in protest, brought out rallies and formed human chains in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country demanding immediate arrest and exemplary punishment to the killers of Sohagi Jahan Tonu.Tonu, a student at Comilla Victoria College, was murdered by miscreants at Alipur area of the Mainamati Cantonment on March 20. Investigators believed that she was raped before the murder.On Tuesday morning, several hundred students of Dhaka University staged protest blocking Shahbagh intersection demanding justice and arrest of Tonu’s killers. Later, the students of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, Notre Dam College and Dhaka College joined the protest rally along with placards, festoons and banners and chanted slogans demanding justice for Tonu. Vehicular movement came to a halt for about four hours on the busy intersection due the protest. Vehicular movement, however, resumed at 4pm when the protesters left the area.The protesters then announced to observe strike in all educational institutions on April 3 demanding justice for Tonu.Progressive Students’ Alliance and Anti-Imperialist Students Union, comprising of many others student organizations, also expressed solidarity with the strike.During the protest, the protesters stopped the vehicle of army official Major General Harun-Ur Rashid. They then pasted on the vehicle posters that voiced their demands of punishment for Tonu’s killers. Then the army official’s wife Suraiya Jebin came out of the car and said she also demand the punishment of Tonu’s killers.At one stage, the protesters engaged in a scuffle with police to free the road to pass the car. When the protesters denied doing so, police resorted to brutal actions, including kick out and baton charge, them that left several injured. Later, they released the vehicle following intervention by police personnel. Shahbagh Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge Abu Bakkar Siddique said: “We all want justice for Tonu but it is not right to block roads to demand justice. “Shahbagh intersection is very important area as there are several hospitals around it. Such movements can claim patients lives on the road. So we urge the protesters to consider this while staging any programme.”While joining the rally, Mahadi Hasan, a workshop secretary of Sarokalpon Abrittey Chakro, said; “Now we are living in a shameful society where a cultural activist has dead after raped and the authorities have failed to show any progress, though nine days have passed”.”The criminals may get away if the investigation is delayed like this.” Joining the protest rally, Saikat Mollik, President of Bangladesh Chhatro Federation, alleged that the law enforcers arte trying to hide the authentic clue of the murder as they buried Tonu without preparing proper autopsy report. “This has raised question about a fair investigation on the murder case,” he added. Meanwhile, the leaders of Bangladesh Chhatro League (BCL) also expressed solidarity with the protesters and demanded trail to the killers of Tonu.Zakir Hossain, General Secretary of BCL, told The New Nation yesterday that people did not know about the Tonu murder. BCL brought the issue first by holding protest rallies across the country. “We demand a transparent trail to the killers. But we do not give any chance to the third party for creating anarchy in the country taking up the issue,” he said.”We demand exemplary punishment to the killers. We are yet to take any programme, but we will do soon,” Abid Al Hasan, BCL’s DU unit President told The New Nation on Tuesday. At 5:00pm, cultural activists of Sammilita Sangskritik Jote also staged a protest rally at TSC demanding justice for Tonu.Golam Kuddus, Oresident of Sammilita Sangskritik Jote, said they would hold a demonstration at the same place on April 4, if their demand is not met by then.They will also march towards the home ministry to hand over a memorandum to the home minister in this regard.Meanwhile, activists of Chhatra Union brought out a torch processions at Shahbagh yesterday evening demanding arrest and punishment of Tonu’s killers.Later, they also staged a brief rally in front of Razu sculpture at TSC.Meanwhile, different cultural and student organizations held separate protest rallies and formed human chains in Comilla, Laxmipur, Barisal, Rajshashi, Khulna and other parts in the country demanding immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of the killers.
