Rangpur: As the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement gained momentum, the Awami League regime persisted with arrests despite relaxing the curfew in Rangpur division for 16 hours on July 30 last year. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies continued to pressure student coordinators and activists to dissolve the movement in Rangpur on July 30.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, even with the curfew relaxed from 6am to 10pm, a sense of panic lingered among residents who only left their homes for urgent necessities like food and medicine. Meanwhile, thousands, including teachers, guardians, women, and cultural activists, prepared to join the student-mass movement seeking change.
Student coordinators from Begum Rokeya University struggled to communicate due to internet outages, resorting to alternative methods to organize. Pro-movement political activists remained in hiding as the regime, alongside police and Awami affiliates, intensified mass arrests and enforced disappearances in Rangpur city.
The student movement, fueled by the death of Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayeed in police firing on July 16, swelled with participation, challenging the regime's control. Despite the relaxed curfew in eight districts, police continued detaining students and civilians identified from video footage.
By nightfall, 192 individuals were arrested in 22 cases within Rangpur metropolitan area, with police acknowledging the arrest of 65 leaders and activists from Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami. Outside the metropolitan area, another 490 people were detained across various districts, including Rangpur, Gaibandha, and Nilphamari.
A press release from Rapid Action Battalion reported the arrest of 43 individuals from different parts of Rangpur division, including 11 from Rangpur metropolitan area, 29 from Nilphamari, and three from Gaibandha district.
Rahamat Ali, a student coordinator at Begum Rokeya University, noted the challenges in communication due to the internet shutdown. He highlighted the threats faced by student coordinators and activists from the regime and Awami affiliates, emphasizing their resolve to continue organizing in secret to strengthen the movement against the regime.