July uprising injured vandalise foundation office over due compensation

Participants injured during the 2024 Anti-Discrimination Student Movement vandalised the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation office and locked its gate at Shahbag in the capital tonight (8 July) over due compensation.

They started the protest which escalated into an altercation with foundation officials, eventually leading to vandalism inside the office.

The demonstrators claimed that despite promises of support, many have not received any financial aid for months – even those critically injured or facing life-threatening conditions.

They alleged mismanagement and unfair distribution of the foundation's funds.

Screengrab from a video

Following the incident, a meeting was held between the protesters and the foundation's CEO Lt Col (Retd) Akbar Kamal to resolve the issue.

Akbar told The Business Standard that a solution would be reached by Sunday (13 July). "Measures would be taken to avoid such incidents in the future."

As of 11:45pm, discussions with the injured protesters were still in progress.

When asked about the attack, Kamal said, "We have no accusation against them. They attacked us, they vandalised the office – some of them are in trauma, many have no future as they're injured and lost parts of their body. Their future is bleak. They have a justification for the vandalism as they're distressed."

He added, "We have already received Tk110 crore in funds and distributed the money. But to pay the injured individuals properly, we currently need another Tk87 crore. With the current budget constraints, we can't do more right now."

Asked whether the foundation would pursue legal action against those involved in the attack, the CEO declined to respond.