Dhaka University students have set a 48-hour deadline for law enforcers to arrest those responsible for the murder of fellow student Shahriar Alam Shammo.
The protesters are also demanding exemplary punishment for the perpetrators and are pushing for a safer campus, reports bdnews24.com.
Students staged a sit-in protest under the Anti-Terrorism Raju Memorial Sculpture on the campus around 11:30am on Friday.
Student marches from different residential halls on the campus converged on the location. They then marched to the Shahbagh Police Station to receive an “update” on the investigation. Some teachers at the university were also present at the protest to show their support.
During the sit-in, the students claimed that only three people were arrested over the murder despite 10-12 people being involved it. The protesters called it "nonsense".
Ibrahim Munshi, a student of the 27th batch of the Institute of Education and Research, said that this protest was non-partisan.
“Various political parties have started arguing over Shammo`s body,” he said. “Their main demand is the resignation of various people. But our main demand is justice Shammo’s murder. Though 72 hours have passed since Shammo`s murder, the person who stabbed him has not been arrested.”
Ibrahim said the protesters had not come to attack anyone or to demand anyone’s resignations, but to demand the arrest of the prime suspect and justice.
If the other perpetrators are not arrested within 48 hours, the students will call a programme to surround Shahbagh Police Station, he said.
Shammo’s classmate Toufiq-ul Islam said, “The main suspect in Shammo`s murder has not been arrested yet. I do not see any attempt to arrest them. Those already arrested by the police are involved, but they are not the prime suspects. We want answers as to why the remaining suspects are not being arrested.”
Toufiq warned that the non-violent protests would escalate if the other suspects were not arrested within 48 hours.
Shammo was seriously injured in a knife attack at Suhrawardy Udyan around 11:30pm on May 13. He was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where the doctor on duty declared him dead.
Shammo was a student of the Institute of Education and Research from the 2018-19 academic year and stayed at AF Rahman Hall. He was serving as the publicity and publication secretary of the hall’s Chhatra Dal unit.
