NRC demands banning AL after Gazipur student’s death
The National Revolutionary Council (NRC) has called on the government to immediately ban the Awami League as a fascist party, following the death of Abul Kashem, a student from Gazipur.
Kashem, 20, succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday after being brutally tortured during a counter-revolutionary attack by Awami League supporters at the home of former minister AKM Mozammel Haque on February 7.
In a statement signed by NRC Assistant Member Secretary Galib Ihsan, the party also demanded that 239 accused individuals in the case of Shaheed Kashem’s murder, including Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and former Gazipur Mayor Jahangir, be designated as terrorists. The statement urged the government to take action, ensuring that those hiding in India cannot seek refuge abroad.
The statement described Kashem as the orphaned son of late Jamal Haji from South Kalmeshwar village, Board Bazar, Gazipur. It recounted the events of February 7, when student activists protesting discrimination attempted to intervene during an attack on Mozammel Haque’s residence. However, they were brutally tortured by Awami League loyalists.
Among the five critically injured, Kashem and Yasir Arafat suffered severe head injuries and were placed in the ICU. Kashem passed away on Wednesday afternoon while undergoing treatment.
The NRC condemned the fact that, despite the August 5 revolution, the Awami League has not yet been banned as a fascist organisation. Instead, the party claims there are efforts to rehabilitate it into politics, emboldening it to resume mass killings like the July massacre. The Gazipur incident, the NRC warned, is evidence of a new wave of political violence.
The party also criticized advisers, politicians, and civil society members who have opposed banning the Awami League, holding them accountable for the continued violence.
"To protect the student population from the Awami League’s grip, abandon your false civility and demand an immediate ban on this fascist party," the statement urged.
