Police foil Samajtantrik Front human chain in Rangpur

Police have foiled a human chain by Rangpur Samajtantrik Front demanding a waiver communique from the government cancelling all kinds of student rents and admission fees for a year.

The human chain took place in front of the press club of the district on Tuesday afternoon.

Protesters said they were staging a peaceful human chain, stating it is tough for poor students to pay rent amid the pandemic coronavirus and frequent lockdowns. They also demanded a prompt bail order of Sirajum Munira --Bangla Department professor at Begum Rokeya University-- who was arrested under the Digital Security Act for a post on Facebook.

However, Rangpur Metropolitan Police baton-charged the peaceful movement and arrested Saju, convenor of the protest, said Nityananda Barman, a leader of Rangpur Samajtantrik Front.

They harassed our members and injured Saju when taking him into custody, claimed Nityananda.

Contacted, refusing to reveal the reason for their actions, Kotwali police station Sub-inspector Ershad Hossain said: "We detained Saju. We will comment on the matter after discussing with our superiors."