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The interim government has banned the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the Awami League, designating it as a terrorist organization following demands from the anti-discrimination student movement.
In the aftermath of the ban, parents of Abrar Fahad, a victim of BCL violence, shared their reflections. Rokeya Khatun and Barkat Ullah spoke to reporters from their home in Kushtia city, offering insights into their fight for justice.
Rokeya recalled the last moments with her son five years ago: "Wash your hands and face, pray, and eat the food I prepared for you." On the morning of October 6, 2019, she personally saw him off, an act now filled with heartache.
"Last night I saw in the news that the Chhatra League has been banned. If Chhatra League was not enabled under a dictatorial regime, they would not be so dangerous. That night, they brutally tortured and killed my son. The entire nation knows that," she lamented.
Reflecting on the five years since Abrar's death, Rokeya expressed hope amid her grief: "Just as the people of this country were with us before, they will be with us now. Those who killed Abrar have not yet been brought to justice. Three of the accused are still absconding, and I demand that those who instigated the Chhatra League in the murder also face the law."
"Before August 5, 2024, thousands of mothers like me have lost their children. The government must ensure justice for every murder. Only a mother understands the pain of losing a child."
Barkat Ullah echoed his wife's sentiments, highlighting the ongoing lack of justice: "The trial for my son's murder has not yet been completed. Many others involved in my son's killing, besides the Chhatra League, have not been accused. I demand action against anyone who commits injustice and oppression against ordinary students."
Abrar Fahad was brutally murdered on the night of October 6, 2019, by Chhatra League leaders and activists at the Sher-e-Bangla Hall of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), where he was a second-year student in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.