Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) activists allegedly assaulted some leaders of DUCSU and several campus journalists within the perimeter of Shahbagh Police Station on Thursday evening, leaving at least ten members of the Dhaka University Journalists' Association (DUJA) injured.
Despite the violence occurring within the station premises, the Shahbagh police are said to have acted as silent spectators. No official explanation has been forthcoming from the police regarding their mute presence amid the violence that was unleashed.
Earlier in the day JCD activists reportedly beat and harassed several journalists in two phases at the University's Hall Para and Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah Hall.
The injured journalists include Manjur Hossain Mahi (Kaler Kantho), Khalid Hasan (Desh Rupantor), Liton Islam (Agamira Somoy), Samsuddoza Nabab (Dhaka Tribune), Mohammad Iftekhar Hossain Sifat (Dhaka Mail), Harun Islam (Naya Diganta), Asaduzzaman Khan (Manab Zamin) and Niemur Rahman Emon (Daily Observer).
Among them, Mohammad Iftekhar Hossain Sifat sustained serious injuries to his eyes and face. He was subsequently taken to the Dhaka University Medical Centre for treatment.
DUCSU leaders elected from the Shibir-backed panel, Social Welfare Secretary A. B. Zubair, and Literary and Cultural Affairs Secretary Musaddiq Ali sustained minor head injuries.
All day, a screenshot of a Facebook post attributed to Abdullah Al Mahmud (who is considered close to the Shibir-backed panel that swept the DUCSU elections, having been one of their few losing candidates) had been circulating. The post was alleged to be derogatory towards Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and his daughter Zaima Rahman.
Although Abdullah posted a denial claiming the screenshot was fake, JCD activists continued to threaten him online. Later factchecking website Rumor Scanner released a report claiming the image had been manipulated using AI, to make someone else’s post look like Abdullah’s.
It was also learned that JCD activists were relentlessly egged on by some Awami League/Chhatra League-affiliated accounts, which urged the BNP’s student front leaders to defend the honour of Tarique Rahman and Zaima Rahman, “if they could”. The same account is also suspected of having been behind the offending post with the manipulated image.
As the backlash continued to grow online, Abdullah went to Shahbagh Police Station to file a General Diary (GD) seeking protection from police, accompanied by Ubaidur Rahman Hasib, GS of Amar Ekushey Hall Student Union, and two others. JCD activists also arrived at the station, apparently to file a case against Abdullah, accusing him of posting “derogatory” content about PM Tarique Rahman and his daughter Zaima Rahman on Facebook. With their sheer numbers, they surrounded the station.
The attack on the journalists took place when they arrived to cover the developing situation.
Eyewitnesses stated that when Ferdous (Jago News) and Sourav Islam (RisingBD) attempted to record videos, JCD activists obstructed them. Manjur Hossain Mahi, president of the DUJA, protested at this but in the ensuing chaos, the journalists were pushed out from the station.
Meanwhile, JCD activists were heard chanting slogans such as, "Shibir and journalists do not go together."
The journalists then came under further attack by another group led by Abujar Gifari Efat, a JCD leader of Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall.
Once things calmed down a bit, Obaydur Rahman Samith, another JCD leader who was involved in the initial attack, repeatedly called DUJA president Mahi to apologize.
When our DU correspondent sought his statement on the events, he said he would speak to the media only after speaking with Mahi first.
Nasir Uddin Nasir, General Secretary of the Central Chhatra Dal, stated, "I have just returned from Chattogram. I have heard about the matter and am looking into it."