Chhatra Dal blocks Shahbagh again demanding justice for Shammo
Vehicular movement came to a standstill at the intersection due to the blockade
Activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), the student wing of BNP, blocked the Shahbagh intersection today (20 May), demanding justice for the murder of Dhaka University student Shahriar Alam Shammo, a leader of the organisation's campus unit.
Witnesses said Chhatra Dal activists of its different units gathered in the area around 3pm, halting traffic in the adjacent roads for hours and causing suffering to commuters amid rain.
"Vehicular movement came to a standstill at the intersection due to the blockade," Shakil, assistant commissioner of Traffic (Shahbagh Zone), told The Business Standard.
The demonstration concluded around 5pm, allowing traffic in the busy intersection to return to normal, Shakil said.
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During their protest, the demonstrators shouted slogans demanding justice for Shammo's murder at the intersection.
From the sit-in demonstration, they also demanded resignation of the vice-chancellor and proctor of Dhaka University and ensuring a safe campus environment, reports UNB.
Earlier 18 May, they enforced a similar two-hour blockade at Shahbagh demanding justice for Shammo murder.
On 16 May, the protesters besieged the police station for about an hour and a half, gave a 48-hour ultimatum for the arrest, and left.
During the protest, the protesters claimed that the people whom the police arrested, even if they are involved, are not the main suspects.
How was Shammo killed
Shahriar Alam Shammo was fatally stabbed by miscreants on Tuesday (13 May), near Suhrawardy Udyan.
According to sources, around 11:45pm, Shammo was returning to campus from Suhrawardy Udyan on a motorcycle with his university friends Ashraful Alam Rafi and Md Abdullah Al Baizid.
As they reached the northern side of the Kali Temple, a group of 10-12 unidentified individuals hit their motorcycle, causing them to fall.
An argument broke out between Shammo and his friends and the group of attackers.
During the altercation, the unidentified assailants physically assaulted them, punching and beating them with bricks.
At one point, one of the attackers stabbed Shammo repeatedly in the back of his right thigh with a sharp weapon.
As Shammo lay critically injured and bleeding on the ground, the assailants threatened him and his friends with various forms of intimidation before fleeing the scene.
Shammo was later rescued and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where the on-duty doctor declared him dead.
Md Faruk, in-charge of the DMCH police outpost, confirmed the death, citing hospital sources.
"There was a deep wound on his right leg caused by a sharp weapon. The body has been kept at the morgue for autopsy," he said.
On Thursday (14 May), police arrested three individuals in connection with the murder in a case filed against 10-12 people with Shahbag Police Station.
Shammo hailed from Ullapara upazila in Sirajganj and served as the Literary and Publication secretary of Chatradal's Sir AF Rahman Hall unit.
