AGAINST the backdrop of quota reform movement, a second-year student of Social Science at Eden College Lutfur Nahar Luma was arrested from her grandfather’s house in Belkuchi upazila of Sirajganj district in the small hours of Wednesday. Police said the cyber crime unit of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit and members of Belkuchi Police Station jointly conducted the raid to arrest her.
She was arrested in a case filed under ICT act with the Ramna Police Station in Dhaka. Luma, who hails from Kashiani upazila of Gopalganj, was hiding at her grandfather’s house since police had launched crackdown against the quota reformists. A day earlier Tasnim — a quota reform activist and also a master’s student of Sociology Department of Dhaka University, was detained from Shamsunnahar Hall area. She however was released.
Cabinet Secretary last Monday said the committee headed by him has advised the government to abolish all sorts of quota but the future of Freedom Fighters’ children’s quota will be decided on court decision. In an instant reaction, the quota reform leaders on Tuesday reiterated their three-point demand including unconditional release of the arrested students and punishment of their attackers. They issued an ultimatum to the government to fulfil their demands by August 31.
We are shocked seeing that government has taken the cruel path of detention and harassment apparently to put down the popular quota reform movement by detaining the student leaders. Already 22 students, including seven front row leaders, are languishing in jail. Series of raids are being conducted at different areas also to arrest other local leaders. Evidently, the arrest of Luma is to create more mental pressure on general students those supporting the movement spontaneously.
The government still isn’t paying attention to what’s most important though we have been advising the authorities that easy arrest of protesting students and others is not the solution. But the government left the task of finding solution to police tactics without solving the problem that needed to be solved. The arrests and police cases are not the solution. What is making the crisis worse by protecting politically the politically let loose culprits.
