Inqilab Moncho shifts protest site from Shahbagh to make way for Tarique Rahman
Inqilab Moncho has relocated its ongoing protest from Shahbagh to the front of Aziz Super Market to facilitate the arrival of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, who is set to visit the grave of slain activist Sharif Osman Hadi today.
The group began vacating Shahbagh around 8:30 am on Saturday (27 December) and had fully shifted to Aziz Super Market by morning.
Inqilab Moncho announced that they will return to Shahbagh to resume their sit-in after Tarique Rahman completes his visit to Hadi’s grave and leaves the area.
On the ground at Aziz Super Market this morning, leaders and activists of Inqilab Moncho were seen holding position. They raised slogans including “Delhi na Dhaka, Dhaka Dhaka” and “Bichar bichar bichar chai, Hadi hotyar bichar chai” (We demand justice, justice for Hadi’s murder).
As per their pre-announced programme, Inqilab Moncho had been holding a night-long sit-in at Shahbagh since Friday. In the morning, Dhaka University unit spokesperson and DUCSU leader Fatima Tasnim Juma stood at Shahbagh intersection and announced that the group was vacating the spot.
By then, most members had already moved to Aziz Super Market. Some were seen cleaning up the road of debris.
Fatima Tasnim Juma said they had cleared the area in honour of Tarique Rahman’s visit. She added that once he completes his visit to Osman Hadi’s grave and departs, the group will return to Shahbagh to resume their programme. She later declared that no Inqilab Moncho member was present on the other side of the barricade.
Meanwhile, several hundred leaders and activists of the central committee of Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal were seen marching multiple times past Shahbagh intersection. They chanted various slogans in celebration of Tarique Rahman’s arrival.
Heightened security measures, including additional deployment of police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), were visible around Shahbagh National Museum, Osman Hadi’s grave, and Dhaka University area in connection with Tarique Rahman’s visit.
