Sagar Biswas :
Reckless activities of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of ruling Awami League, have come under review of Awami League high command as one incident after another by its activists are denting the image of the party itself.
At present, the rowdy members of BCL are continuing to flex muscles turning the country’s most of the educational institutions into battle fields.
Insiders said the party high command has become highly annoyed as BCL members’ anarchy and bloody confrontations are taking place one after another despite repeated warnings.
In the latest incident, Sumon Das, 23, a third year BBA student of Sylhet International University, was killed and 40 others, including the proctor, were injured in clashes between two BCL rival groups on the campus of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology [SUST] in Sylhet on Thursday.
In this backdrop, the AL high-ups have issued fresh warning to take tough action against the rowdy BCL members with conducting a cleansing operation in the organization soon.
“BCL men involved in violent activities will not be spared anymore. They will have to face legal action. There are several weeds in the BCL, we will drag them out to clean the organisation,” Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said on Saturday.
Quader, a presidium member of AL and also former president of BCL, further said, “The BCL activists who hacked to death Old Dhaka tailor Biswajit Das have already been punished. So, the BCL men [of SUST] will face action now.”
Earlier, AL Advisory Council member and former railways minister Suranjit Sengupta sharply criticised the SUST clash and said such activities of BCL have put the government in an embarrassing situation.
“We must not save BCL. The achievements of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government are not being appreciated properly because of them,” Suranjit said expressing frustration on Friday.
Meanwhile, Uttam Kumar Das, BCL leader and brother of slain Suamn Kumar Das, has strongly refuted the claim of BCL President HM Bodiuzzaman Sohag given on Friday.
“The allegations raised by BCL central committee president [Badiuzzaman] is very painful and also a matter of great regret. When everybody is sympathized over the death of Suman, the BCL chief is trying to put blame on the deceased, and also on his family,” Uttam said in a statement yesterday.
Uttam also pointed some incidents where several BCL men responsible for conducting attacks in previous tomes at SUST were not punished till the date.
Raising allegations, Bodiuzzaman had said, “So far as we know, an expelled BCL leader Uttam Kumar Das was involved in the clashes [in SUST] and the organisation will not be responsible for him [Uttam]. An investigation committee will be formed in this connection. If any BCL man is found responsible, steps will be taken against him.”
At least 167 people were killed and over 13 thousand received injuries in around one thousand infightings from January 2009 to October 2014, said a media report adding that, of them, 27 died in 114 clashes in last 10 months of this year.
Being annoyed with BCL caders’ unruly activities, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Information and Communication Technology [ICT] Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy recently urged them not to defame the organization anymore.
Joy also issued warning to take tough action against the trouble makers at a view-exchange meeting with the leaders of BCL at Ganobhaban on November 13.
“I want all BCL members to devote to study attentively to make yourselves self reliant. If you carry on your studies, you would not need to do any other illegal activities. I request you not to indulge in acts that defame the historic Chhatra League,” he said.
Meanwhile, getting green signal the police are now conducting massive hunt to nab the absconding members of BCL who were allegedly involved in SUST incident. Police so far have arrested 31 BCL activists in connection with Thursday’s gunfight.
Kotwali and Jalalabad police stations and Detective Branch of Sylhet Metropolitan Police arrested them in a combined drive and recovered a revolver loaded with 4 bullets and 19 machetes, according to sources.
