Dhaka bursts into protests against Rajan’s murder

Social and cultural organisations in Dhaka have demonstrated against Samiul Alam Rajan’s brutal murder on charge of stealing.

Citizens from different walks of life and professions protested at Shahbagh roundabout, while Juba Union held a rally in front of the National Press Club on Monday.

Litterateurs, poets, intellectuals, human-rights activists, blogger and online activists, among others, joined the Shahbagh rally following a call from a Facebook event.

Demanding exemplary punishments to Rajan’s killers, Ganajagaran Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarker said, “We have demanded the same in many similar incidents in the past. I am now ashamed of pressing for this kind of demand.”

He urged the people to join the rally scheduled to be held tomorrow in Sylhet.

“I request all to join the sit-in. Wherever we are, let’s stand on the road holding a placard and protest from our own positions.”

On July 8, Samiul Alam Rajan, 13, was beaten to death on accusations of stealing a rickshaw van at Kumargaon in Sylhet's Sadar Upazila.

One of the torturers had filmed the shocking incident and released it on a social networking site. 

The 28-minute video clip went viral on the internet, creating a firestorm on the social media.

Sarker said, “Low-income family’s child Rajan was killed on a trivial accusation. Accusations are rife against high-income people. They have looted crores of taka. But we haven’t dragged them out to the road to beat them up.”

He said everyone should stir up their own conscience and protest.

Human-rights activist Khushi Kabir said, “I am disheartened and angry over this kind of barbaric murder. We have reached such a stage where Rajan was beaten to death before the eyes of everyone while the people were laughing but not protesting.”

She said, “This is a disease.”

Poet Pias Majid said the protesters should come out of routine demand for justice in Facebook and hit the streets to press for justice to force the administration’s hand.

Chhatra Union’s former president Baki Billah urged the people to protest persistently to prevent such incidents.

Juba Union and other progressive people’s forums formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club in the afternoon.

Organisation’s President Abdullah Al Kafi Ratan said, “The State and the law-enforcing agencies can’t avoid the responsibility of the killing of Samiul Alam Rajan.”

“They also have the responsibility to protect people by ensuring immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of Rajan’s killers.”