In Dhaka, an armed attack on students and citizens by workers of the Jatiya Party, an organization allied with fallen power structures, led to a violent confrontation. Hasnat Abdullah, a prominent coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement, reported on Facebook that members of the student wing of the Gana Odhikar Parishad were holding a rally in Bijoynagar when a Jatiya Party member launched an attack from their office. The attackers reportedly wielded sharp weapons and sticks, resulting in several injuries among the students.
In response, Hasnat Abdullah and Sarzish Hasan posted on social media, calling for supporters to march to Bijoynagar to aid the students.
In the post, Sarjis writes, “The Jatiya Party has attacked our brothers in Bijoynagar with weapons and is parading armed demonstrations. We are heading to Bijoynagar with a procession from the Raju Sculpture. We must eradicate these national traitors.” Earlier, around 6 p.m., students organized a torch procession at Dhaka University’s Raju Sculpture under the banner of “Anti-Fascist Students, Workers, and People” to protest the “fallacious political activities and anti-national conspiracies of the fascist Awami League and its ally, the Jatiya Party.”
During this time, speakers referred to the Jatiya Party as an ally of the Awami League and stated that they have no right to engage in politics. They added that political subversion and anti-national conspiracies will not be tolerated in this country.Abdullah announced, “We will meet at Bijoynagar with a procession from Raju Bhaskar at 8:30 PM.” He condemned the Jatiya Party as collaborators with a tyrannical regime and declared that their influence must be eradicated.
Angered by the attack, protesters set fire to the Jatiya Party’s office. Later, the military and police arrived on the scene to control the situation. Firefighters eventually managed to extinguish the blaze after the entire ground floor was engulfed. The action was justified by some protesters, citing that Jatiya Party members were responsible for instigating the violence against students.
