Several hundred activists of the banned student wing of the Awami League, the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), brought out a procession in Dhaka’s Mohakhali area on Thursday morning, drawing attention from commuters and bystanders.
It was known that the rally began at around 9am from the Mohakhali Bus Stand. Eyewitnesses said people started gathering earlier near the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), before suddenly forming a procession carrying banners toward the bus terminal.
Pedestrian Mithun Sarkar said the gathering appeared spontaneous, and the crowd quickly turned into a march. He also noted that a group of 20 to 25 women linked to the Jubo Mohila League joined the procession as it moved along the route.
Participants were heard chanting various political slogans, including calls for the release of what they described as “political prisoners.” They also marked the Awami League’s founding anniversary during the demonstration. Among the slogans raised were “Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu,” “Sheikh Hasina will return, Bangladesh will smile,” and “23 June is Awami League’s founding anniversary.”
Another eyewitness said the women participants arrived from the direction of the Mohakhali bus terminal and joined the main group while shouting slogans.
Police later confirmed that some individuals had gathered in the Mohakhali area shortly after 9am.
Tejgaon Industrial Area Police Station chief Md Mahbubur Rahman said authorities detained two people in connection with the incident, while efforts were ongoing to identify and apprehend others involved in the procession.
