Concerned guardians and citizens hold a rally on the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka on Monday demanding release of the students arrested after the countrywide protests against Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit. — New Age photo

Politicians, academics and professionals on Monday at a sit-in at the Central Shaheed Minar called for release of 51 student leaders who have been kept in pretrial detention since their arrests before Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh on March 26.

They said that the students should be immediately released on bail before upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr so that they could celebrate the holy occasion with their family members.

A group of civil society members and concerned family members of the arrested held the sit-in from 11:00am to 1:00pm.

Gonoshasthya Kendra founding trustee Zafrullah Chowdhury chaired the event.

Zafrullah Chowdhury said the student leaders kept in detention were not involved with any criminal offence so they should be granted bails as the cases could continue.

He demanded release of all student leaders on bail before Eid.

Ganosamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki said that among the arrested were three current students of Dhaka University and the vice-chancellor should take steps to get them released on bail before Eid.

Nagarik Oikya convener and Dhaka University Central Students’ Union former vice-president Mahmudur Rahman Manna said that the government was trying to stay in power by arresting those students who were opposing the illegal regime.

DUCSU’s immediate past vice-president and coordinator of Bangladesh Chhatra, Juba O Sramik Adhikar Parishad Nurul Haque Nur said that all the arrested student leaders belonged to their student organisation.

The government had arrested them to create fear among the minds of the student so that they stopped opposing the misrule, he said.

Professor Asif Nazrul of Dhaka University condemned the arresting of the student leaders by the law enforcement agencies.

He said that as a teacher, he was ashamed of the detention of his students.

Freedom fighters Nayeed Jahangir and Istiaque Aziz Ulfat said that there was no rule of law in the country and the spirits of the War of Independence were violated by the government.

Political scientist Dilara Chowdhury, Shushashoner Jonnoy Nagorik secretary Badiul Alam Majumder, lawyer Sadia Arman, engineer Mohammad Enamul Haque, DU teachers Nurul Amin Bepari, Luftar Rahman, internationally-reputed photographer Shahidul Alam  writer Rahul Raha, Bhashani Onusari Parishad secretary Sheikh Rafiqul Islam Bablu, central leader of the parishad Jahangir Alam Mintu  and some family members of the arrested student leaders spoke at the programme.

After the sit-in programme, a delegation of civil society led by Zafrullah, Saki and Nurul met DU vice-chancellor M Akhtaruzzaman at his office and requested him to take steps for release of his students on bail.

The vice-chancellor told them that he would try for the release of the arrested student leaders on bail.