Slain BCL leader Diaz’s mother goes on hunger strike at CU

Slain Chhatra League leader Diaz Irfan Chowdhury’s mother went on hunger strike in a bid to draw the Chittagong University’s attention to her claim that her son’s murderers are still at large.

Diaz, a central committee leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League or BCL, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, was found dead at his home on the CU campus on Nov 20 last year. The body was found hanging from the ceiling of his bedroom.

Diaz, whose parents are CU staffers, also served as a vice-chairman of the BCL's university unit. The initial autopsy report said it was a suicide, but his loyalists claimed rivals murdered him and hung the body to cover it up

On Monday morning, Diaz’s mother Jaheda Amin Chowdhury draped herself in a shroud in silent protests against the murder.

She was seen in front of the administration building on the campus with another shroud in hand that read -- “Remove Diaz’s murderers including Anwar, Jamshed and Alamgir Tipu from the Chittagong University campus”.

“We tried to convince her to withdraw the strike but she again took position by the Shaheed Minar at 11am. She says she will not go away or eat anything until the murderers are arrested,” Jaheda’s relative Rezaul Karim told bdnews24.com.

Diaz’s sister Zubaida Sarwar Chowdhury Nipa, a lawyer, said: “One year has passed but the murderers were not arrested. They are moving freely on the campus. Alamgir Tipu even took out a rally. All these have left my mother in a restless state.”

Last year on Nov 24, Diaz’s family rejected the autopsy report and filed a case with a Chittagong court accusing 10 people of the murder.

The case filed by Jaheda Chowdhury at a senior judicial magistrate's court accused 10 including Chittagong University's assistant proctor Anwar Hossain and Chhatra League president Alamgir Tipu.

The others she has accused of killing her son are Jamshedul Alam Chowdhury, Rashedul Alam Jishan, Abu Torab Porosh, Monsur Alam, Abdul Malek, Mizanur Rahman, Ariful Hoque Opu, and Mohammad Arman.

All the accused and Diaz are known to be followers of Chittagong city mayor AJM Nasir Uddin, also the president of Chittagong Awami League.

Diaz’s body was exhumed after a court ordered a re-examination. On Aug 7 this year, upon receiving the latest forensic report that found wounds on Diaz’s body, the court ordered the police to arrest the accused but no arrest has been made.