Ganajagaran Mancha ecstatic

Ganajagaran Mancha erupted in joy after the Supreme Court threw out the review petition of war criminal Abdul Quader Molla, clearing way for his execution.

Numerous people, from all walks of life, gathered at Shahbagh’s Ganajagaran Mancha in anticipation of the court's decision and erupted with joy after learning that the Appellate Division rejected the Jamaat-e-Islami leader’s petition around Thursday noon.

The supporters of the mass platform against war criminals from Bangladesh’s Liberation War took out a victory procession from Prajanma Chattar at the iconic Shahbagh crossway.

Spokesperson for Ganajagaran Mancha Imran H Sarker, in an instant reaction, said, “We are very happy. We got the verdict we expected.”

Activists of Ganajagaran Mancha reoccupied Shahbagh on Tuesday night after the Chamber Judge of the Supreme Court halted the Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General’s execution just hours before the hanging was to take place.

Several explosions have taken place near the platform in an apparent effort to scare the supporters away from holding their demonstrations.

The platform came into being as people burst into fury after Quader Molla was sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Crimes Tribunal on Feb 5.

Thousands of people, particularly youths, saw the verdict as too ‘lenient’ and occupied the busy Shahbagh intersection.

The spontaneous vigil that continued for several more weeks at the Shahbagh intersection drew tens of thousands of protesters, shutting off traffic through the busy thoroughfare.

The spirit of the demonstrations spread quickly throughout the nation and came to be known as Ganajagaran Mancha or people’s uprising - a mass protest platform for maximum penalty for war criminals and prohibition of Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh.

Following the protests, the government filed an appeal with the Supreme Court against the sentence on Mar 3. Molla also appealed for acquittal.

Later, on Sept 17, the apex court raised the sentence from life term to death sentence.