Hundreds of Jahangirnagar University (JU) students staged a protest on campus on Tuesday night, condemning the killing of lawyer Saiful Islam in an attack allegedly by unruly sections of the Hindu community on Chattogram court premises.

Saiful was killed during a clash between police and followers of former ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das in the Chattogram Court Building area.

Around 500 students from various dormitories gathered at the Bot Tola area on campus and took out a procession around 8:20pm, marching through different campus roads.

During the procession, students chanted slogans such as: “Hindu Muslim Bhai Bhai, Ugrobader Thai Nai; Bichar Bichar Bichar Chai, Saiful Hottar Bichar Chai” (Hindus and Muslims are brothers, there is no room for extremism; We demand justice for Saiful).

The procession concluded in front of the Shaheed Minar on campus, where a brief rally was held.

Speakers at the rally condemned the killing of Saiful and urged everyone to maintain communal harmony, resisting any attempts to provoke violence. They also called for ensuring the highest form of justice for the murder.

Addressing the gathering, Anjum Shahriar, a student of the Department of Government and Politics, said, “The country is at a critical juncture. Some extremist groups are trying to disrupt communal harmony. Today, they brutally hacked one of our lawyer brothers to death in Chattogram. We urge the government to ban all extremist organizations that aim to destabilize Bangladesh. We stand against attacks on people of any religion.”

Abdur Rashid Jitu, a student of Comparative Literature and Culture, said, “The organization involved with the heinous killing must be held accountable. Additionally, the interim government cannot evade responsibility for this murder.”

“The fallen dictator is making various attempts to destabilize the country. The student community is ready to resist the conspiracies of these forces. I call upon everyone to unite against the plots of the fallen dictator,” Jitu added.

The rally ended around 9:20 pm.