Chhatra Dal leader Nasir questions alleged Chhatra League–Shibir collusion over Raju sculpture protest, demands probe

Nasir Uddin Nasir, general secretary of the Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chhatra Dal, has raised questions about alleged secret contacts and funding between Chhatra League and Chhatra Shibir surrounding the movement of BCS gazette-deprived candidates at the base of the Raju Sculpture at Dhaka University.

In a post on the social media platform Facebook on Friday (October 23), he demanded a fair investigation to reveal the identities of the program's planners, funders and behind-the-scenes collaborators.

In the Facebook post, Nasir Uddin Nasir claimed that of five people staying overnight at the base of the Raju Sculpture, four were identified as office-holding Chhatra League leaders and activists and were detained.

According to his claim, two of the four detained are former students of Dhaka University and two are former students of Bangladesh Agricultural University.

He also noted that the previous day, after the program began, a Chhatra Shibir worker named Sadik from Dhaka University's Zia Hall and Khan Jasim, international affairs secretary of the DUCSU Shibir panel, had expressed solidarity at the site.

Citing these incidents, the Chhatra Dal leader questioned the alleged contacts and mutual cooperation between Chhatra League and Chhatra Shibir. In his view, it needs to be examined whether there is any plan to create an unstable environment on campus centered on the gazette-deprived candidates' movement.

Nasir Uddin Nasir also questioned the program's expenses. He claimed that setting up a pandal at the base of the Raju Sculpture, along with new mattresses and pillows, banners, carpets and other arrangements, may have cost an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 taka.

His question is whether a few unemployed young men could bear such expenses from their own pockets. Demanding an inquiry into the source of the funding, he suggested in the post that Chhatra Shibir might be involved in financing it. However, he cited no specific evidence on the matter.

Nasir Uddin Nasir said the real facts must be uncovered through evidence, not mere suspicion. Who planned the program, who funded it and who collaborated from behind the scenes — he demanded that a fair investigation bring all of this into the open.

The Chhatra Dal general secretary also expressed the hope that Dhaka University's peaceful academic environment would not be disrupted by any political activity.

The gazette-deprived candidates' sit-in was already a topic of discussion on campus; after the Chhatra Dal secretary's post, the questions of funding and behind-the-scenes involvement have come to the center of a fresh debate.