Shibir activist admits Tuhin attack

An Islami Chhatra Shibir activist has confessed to have attacked the Rajshahi University (RU) unit’s Bangladesh Chhatra League General Secretary.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 25 August 2013, 02:29 PM
Updated : 25 August 2013, 02:29 PM

Rajshahi Metropolitan unit Shibir’s Sports Affairs Secretary Abdullah Al Masum said they had planted their men in Chhatra League and were capitalising on the Awami League student front’s internal frictions.

Police arrested Masum on Saturday for his role in attacking General Secretary Touhid Al Tuhin.

Shibir is the student affiliate of Jamaat-e-Islami, a party that had actively opposed Bangladesh’s struggle for freedom in 1971, and known for its acts of violence.

Masum confessed to leading the attack on Tuhin at Sunday’s press briefing. But Shibir has distanced itself from Masum, claiming he had been expelled three years ago.
Tuhin had been attacked on the campus and is currently undergoing treatment in a Dhaka hospital.
Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Commissioner SM Munir-uz Zaman said Masum led the attack.
“He had led at least 60 acts of violence in Rajshahi,” Zaman said at the briefing. “We finally arrested him after yearlong attempts.”
Masum claimed the Chhatra League leaders, who were left out of the latest committee of the university, orchestrated the attack.
“We assisted them on condition of safe passage after the attack,” he said.
He admitted to taking part in an attack on RU Chhatra League President Akhteruzzaman Takim and severing his tendons.
The violent factional clashes of the student front had been seen in the past as well.
Former Vice President of the student front and incumbent Communications Minister Obaidul Quader had observed that recurring factional clashes were weakening Chhatra League.
Masum said, “Several of our activists (Shibir) are with Chhatra League. Their main task is to establish communication between the clashing groups and Shibir during factional clashes.”
Awami League leaders had also raised concerns over the ‘Shibir intruders’. Such claims were made when Jagannath University Chhatra League activists were accused of killing Old Dhaka youth Biswajit Das.
Masum said the attack on Tuhin had been planned long ago.
He said they had targeted everyone involved with the 2009 killing of Shibir’s RU unit Secretary Nomani.
“Tuhin became our target after he came out with arms on Sep 11 last year when Shibir tried to enter the campus,” he said.
Chhatra League was criticised as pictures of Tuhin firing shots from a firearm was published in newspapers.
Masum, from Rajshahi’s Terokhadia, is a second -year BSc student at Dhaka’s private Prime University. He said he first got involved with Shibir in 2007 after taking admission in the Rajshahi Polytechnic Institute.
Shibir’s RU unit Acting Publicity Secretary Ahmed Ziauddin Bablu claimed police had ‘stage-managed’ the press conference and Masum’s statement.
“He was expelled from the organisation in 2010 for his activities against the organisation,” he said in a statement.
Bablu had earlier rejected his organisation’s involvement in the attack on Tuhin.
In another statement on Saturday, he had said the attack might have taken place at the instigation of the General Secretary aspirants at the Chhatra League’s 24th council on Jul 20.