BCL's wrath on a university correspondent

We strongly condemn the brutality inflicted on our Rajshahi University correspondent by members of the Chhatra League while he was carrying out his professional duty. There is no justification for the student cadres of AL to mercilessly beat up Arafat Rahaman who had been taking photographs of them vandalising a bus. Even though he was wearing his press ID, the hooligans continued to hit him. The seriousness of his injuries speak volumes about the violent nature of these men and their total disregard for the law of the land.

What is more disturbing is that despite Arafat's cries for help the policemen present nearby did nothing to stop the attackers. The obvious impunity that BCL enjoys has resulted in this brutal attack which clearly is intended to intimidate journalists from reporting the misdeeds of some members of this organisation.

The misdemeanours and criminal activities of BCL members have been reported for years and yet it seems the parent party has been able to do precious little in terms of reining in their growing high-handedness.  

It is a sad fact that an organisation which is part of Bangladesh's glorious history has members who resort to violence, intimidation and sometimes corruption, to establish their political supremacy.

In this latest incident, the reason why some BCL men were vandalising the bus was because the bus helper had objected to one of the men smoking inside the bus which was bothering other passengers.

BCL has posted on Facebook that it has suspended the two members who were primarily involved in the incident and we hope this is followed through. But our question remains: will the ruling party do something about the criminal behaviour of members of its affiliated organisations or will it continue to afford them impunity?