Protesters set fire to and destroy the Jatiyo party headquarters

“Students set fire to the party office. Police reached the spot and managed to bring the fire under control,” said Sohel Rana, additional deputy commissioner, Ramna Zone, Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

TBS report

October 31, 2024, at 21:15

Last modified: November 1, 2024, 12:47

Members of the military police and student protesters outside the JP headquarters in Dhaka. Photo: Joynal Abedin Shishir/TBS

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Members of the military police and student protesters outside the JP headquarters in Dhaka. Photo: Joynal Abedin Shishir/TBS

A group of students, workers and public under the banner of ‘Anti-Fascism of Students, Workers and Society’ laid siege to the Jatiyo Party headquarters in Bijoynagar in the capital today (October 31) following clashes with party men.

According to reports from our correspondent at the scene, members of the Bangladesh Army and police were stationed at the spot to control the situation until 10:30 p.m.

“The student audience set fire to the party office. Police reached the spot and managed to bring the fire under control,” said Sohel Rana, additional deputy commissioner, Ramna Zone, Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

“No casualties have been reported. The situation is now normal,” he added.

The development comes amid recent tension between Republican Party leaders and the Student Movement Against Discrimination in recent days after Sarjis Alam, the movement’s coordinator, said the Jatiya Party is an “ally of the fascists” and they are their ” they will crush” “in the streets.

Earlier in the evening, protesters vandalized and set fire to the JP office. They also painted some graffiti on the walls of the building.

The situation escalated after protesters took out a procession from the Dhaka University campus towards the JP headquarters.

Around 6 p.m., a group of students and public organized a torchlight procession to protest against the “political passivity and anti-national conspiracy of the failed fascist Awami League and its friend Jatiya Party” from the anti-terrorist Raju Memorial sculpture at Dhaka University.

The protester said that the parliamentarian had no right to engage in politics because he was a supporter of AL.

There, they chanted various slogans criticizing JP, which was the main opposition party during the last two terms of the Awami League-led government. They called the party the “AL and India cohort” as they had contested the last three elections under the AL government.

At one point, JP supporters came out of the office and a clash broke out between the two groups. Later, protesters set fire to and vandalized JP’s office.

“Jatiya Party leaders and activists first threw bricks at us like rain for about 10 minutes. Then we chased them and they ran away. The Jatiya Party office is now in our possession,” Anwar Hossain, one of the protesters, told The Business Standard.

“The Jatiya Party, like the Awami League, is a cohort of India. They openly announced a rally to be held on November 2 at India’s instigation. We will fight these cohort organizations even at the cost of our lives,” said Ismail Hossain, another protester.

Shortly after the clash, Student Movement Against Discrimination coordinators Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjil Alam announced that they would organize a procession towards the Jatiyo party headquarters to oust the party.

“The Jatiya party of national traitors has beaten our brothers in Bijoynagar with weapons and is gathering with weapons. This time, the overthrow of these traitors is certain,” Hasnat wrote on his Facebook profile.

In another post, he wrote, “We will move to Bijoynagar with a procession from Raju Bhaskarjya at 8.30 p.m. National traitors must be exterminated.”

Around the same time, Sarjis posted a similar post on his Facebook page.

Earlier this month, the Jatiya Party, just before the planned visit of both coordinators to Rangpur, declared Sarjis and Hasnat persona non grata in Rangpur. Later, Sarjis visited the districts as planned, but Hasnat did not do so.

“We will show how the entire student movement, including two student advisors of the caretaker government, can shake the earth in Rangpur and crush the efforts of allies trying to take up the fight on the streets,” Sarjis said on October 26 during a visit to Rangpur, the Jatiya Party’s main stronghold.

Sarjis also condemned the Jatiya Party for legitimizing the Awami League government during the 2014, 2018 and 2024 national elections.