Revolutionary Council demands arrest of attackers on its leaders, Gono Odhikar Parishad’s Faruq during today's rally

The National Revolutionary Council has demanded the arrest of those who launched an attack at its rally held in front of Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka today (4 January).

In a joint statement released this evening, Anisur Rahman, political head, and Md Shafiur Rahman, organisational head of the newly formed National Revolutionary Council, detailed the violent incident that occurred during a rally held to commemorate the July martyrs.

The rally, which began at 2pm, included the participation of citizens and family members of those who lost their lives in the mass uprising. Around 3:30pm, a procession of individuals wounded during the July events joined the gathering.

"When Faruq Hasan, spokesperson of Gono Odhikar Parishad, started giving a speech, a group within the crowd began shouting, questioning Faruk's presence and the reason for his speech. This escalated into a physical assault on him," reads the statement.

The statement describes a chaotic scene where chairs were thrown, creating a climate of fear among the family members of the July martyrs. 

Rabeya Akhter, joint convener of National Revolutionary Council and a prominent figure in the July movement in Uttara, was physically attacked while attempting to protect the victims.

In an effort to defend Faruk and quell the violence, several leaders of the National Revolutionary Council, including joint convener Syed Qutub, Revolutionary Student Council assistant member secretary Ashraful Islam, and others, sustained injuries.

The statement emphasised that the attack on Faruk Hasan and the activists of the Revolutionary Council was captured live by various media outlets, providing clear visual evidence of the attackers.

Therefore, they called for the attackers to be identified from the footage and arrested immediately.

According to the statement, the Revolutionary Council has launched an investigation to ascertain the identities of those involved in the attack. Preliminary findings have identified Sharif and Hillol as two of the attackers, it said.

Gono Odhikar Parishad accuses Revolutionary Council of launching attack on Faruq

Gono Odhikar Parishad has condemned the attack on its senior vice president Faruq Hasan and demanded quick arrest of the attackers.

In a joint statement, Gono Odhikar Parishad President Nurul Haque Nur and General Secretary Md Rashed Khan said, "Before the attack, the attackers said why Faruq gave speech criticising the interim government. The attack appears to have been a direct response to his speech where he called for the banning of the Awami League and demanded proper treatment for the injured, compensation for the martyrs, and the creation of an accurate list of those affected by the July events."

It also stated that "this newly formed revolutionary organisation launched the attack to undermine the government's image and create instability."

Regarding the allegation, Revolutionary Council leaders said, "Despite the fact that the identities and political affiliations of both the attackers and victims can be easily ascertained from the widely circulated video footage, Gono Odhikar Parishad leader Rashed Khan made inaccurate statements against the council."