Dhaka, Oct 12 (IANS) Amid an escalating crackdown on Awami League members in Bangladesh, five leaders and activists of the party’s student wing, Chhatra League, were detained near Taqwa Mosque in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area during a gathering centred around the funeral prayers of the student body’s general secretary, Mahfuzul Haider Chowdhury Roton, local media reported.
Citing locals, leading Bangladeshi newspaper The Business Standard reported that BNP leaders and activists detained the five behind the mosque on Sunday afternoon, assaulted them and subsequently handed them over to Dhanmondi police.
Confirming the incident, Dhanmondi Police Station Officer-in-Charge Muhammad Imdadul Islam Tayeb said the detained individuals belonged to the Chhatra League and were taken into custody while staging a procession behind the mosque.
Following reports that Roton’s funeral would be held in front of Dhanmondi Takwa Mosque, several Chhatra League leaders and activists gathered in the adjoining area. Law enforcement personnel were deployed around the mosque and the nearby Dhanmondi Eidgah ground, Times of Bangladesh reported.
Reports suggest that Roton, who had been battling cancer for a long time, died while undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital in Kolkata, India, on Saturday, with his body arriving in Dhaka on Sunday.
Condemning the detention, former Bangladesh Minister and Awami League leader Mohammad Ali Arafat on Monday slammed the state of politics under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman-led BNP government, questioning how even a deceased political leader’s funeral could become a target of police obstruction and ruling party violence.
“Police, alongside activists of BNP-affiliated organisations, disrupted the funeral proceedings and incited mob violence against ordinary people who had gathered to pay their last respects. Mourners were attacked and beaten, while some were handed over to the police,” Arafat posted on X.
“The incident reflects a disturbing collaboration between law enforcement and ruling party activists. Funeral prayers are a fundamental religious observance, yet the police obstructed these rites while activists of Tarique Rahman’s BNP resorted to intimidation and violence against mourners,” he added.
Raising alarm over the state of governance in Bangladesh, Arafat questioned what kind of government denies people the right to mourn their dead in peace and what kind of political culture allows funeral rites to be disrupted and grieving citizens to face violent intimidation.
“Obstructing funeral prayers and subjecting mourners to violence and police action are deeply alarming violations of fundamental rights. Such incidents raise serious questions about religious freedom, civil liberties, the rule of law and the state of democracy in Bangladesh,” he noted.
–IANS
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