The Bangladesh Chhatra League (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ ছাত্রলীগ; translation: Bangladesh Students' League; abbr. BCL), formerly known as the East Pakistan Student League, is a students' political organisation in Bangladesh, founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 4 January 1948. BCL is reportedly the student wing of the Bangladesh Awami League.Current president Rezwanul Huq Chowdhury Shovon was elected on 26 July 2015 at the National Conference of BCL. Golam Rabbani is the Chhatra League's current elected general secretary.[3] In 2018, following the attacks on student protesters, a petition was started by general people of Bangladesh to "Enlist Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) as a Terrorist Organization" at Change.org.
Biswajit Das, a 24-year-old tailor in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was murdered on 9 December 2012 by members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League who mistook Das for an opposition supporter. Das was chased and attacked with machetes, iron bars, and hockey sticks.[7] He was taken to Mitford Hospital, where he shortly died of his wounds.[8] Twenty-one BCL activists were found guilty of murder on 18 December 2013. Eight were sentenced to death and thirteen were sentenced to life in prison.[9] Only eight of the twenty-one defendants were in custody at the time of the sentence, with the remaining thirteen tried in absentia.[10][11]
2018 conflicts
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In March 2018, a student of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) suffered a bullet wound during a clash between two BCL factions.[12] Reportedly, two factions of the SUST unit of BCL, led by vice-presidents of the unit, had battled over establishing supremacy on the campus. A group of BCL men, led by Akando and colleagues, attacked another man in a restaurant near the university. The man responded with a gunshot which injured another student.[12]
In July 2018, protests and counter-violence erupted at various universities, particularly Rajshahi University, over the quota reform movement, which sought to change the quota system that allocated 56% of Bangladesh government jobs to specific classes. In a protest procession on 2 July 2018, quota-reform movement leader Toriqul Islam and 15 others were attacked with sticks, bamboo poles, a dagger and a hammer. Islam's leg was broken as a result of the attack. A correspondent from The Daily Star filmed the incident and the newspaper reported that it had identified eleven of the attackers, stating that ten were members of the BCL.[13][14] Video and photos of the attack circulated on social media, prompting criticism over police and university administration inaction.[13]
Dhaka bus protests
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Main article: 2018 Bangladesh road safety protests
On 29 July 2018, two students were killed and a further twelve people were injured when a bus hit a bus stop in Dhaka. Protests began shortly afterwards, demanding better road safety. During the protests, BCL members were alleged to have been involved in attacks on protesters and a motorcycle belonging to a BCL member was reportedly set on fire.[15] On 5 August 2018, a number of photojournalists were attacked, allegedly by members of the BCL wearing helmets. Law enforcement officers were present but did not make any attempt to stop the attack
