Dhaka, Nov 27 Several members of the left-leaning Democratic Students' Alliance in Bangladesh were injured after they organised a human chain in Khulna district protesting the nationwide attacks on shrines and Sufi sites and demanding the release of Baul singer Abul Sarkar.
The incident occurred on Wednesday evening at Shibbari intersection in Khulna city when a separate group under the banner of 'Students-People', alleging "insult to religion", launched a counter-protest at the same location.
Citing eyewitnesses, Bangladesh's Bengali daily Prothom Alo reported that the leaders and other members of the Democratic Student Alliance came under attack with blows, punches and sticks, as they took to the roads with banners, which were subsequently snatched and set on fire.
Confirming the incident, Kabir Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Sonadanga Model Police Station of Khulna Metropolitan Police, said that the human chain of leftist students was attacked by "students and the general public".
According to the Democratic Students' Alliance, their protest was organised in continuation of programmes across the country to denounce attacks on Baul artists, vandalism of shrines and temples, and violence against people of different religions.
Sajeeb Khan, general secretary of the district committee of the student union, said, "We took up position in Shibbari around 3 pm. Although the police were present, a planned attack was launched on us around 5 pm."
He alleged that the other group, which came in the name of "students and the people", were members of United People's Bangladesh (UPB) and Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of the radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami.
Meanwhile, protesting both the attack on the Democratic Students' Alliance programme in Khulna and the recent assaults on Baul devotees nationwide, the Left-leaning student organisations at Dhaka University organised a torch procession on Wednesday night.
The protesters chanted slogans such as "No place for extremism in Lalon Sai's Bengal," "Abul Sarkar is my brother, we demand his release now," "Who attacked in Thakurgaon? Communal terrorists", "Why was Abul Sarkar arrested? We want answers," and "Wah Yunus is wonderful, guardian of terrorists."
Condemning the attack in Khulna, Chhatra Union President of Dhaka University unit, Meghmallar Basu, alleged that members of Chhatra Shibir, UPB, and National Citizen Party were involved in the incident.
"We have reached a point where even democratic forces are unable to express themselves freely," Bangladesh's leading newspaper, The Business Standard, quoted the student leader as saying.
Bangladesh has witnessed escalating violence against minorities, cultural institutions, and several religious sites under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, sparking outrage among people and several human rights organisations across the globe.
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