An scuffle took place in front of Shahbagh Police Station on Saturday night after a group gathered to demand the release of a banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leader who had been detained for allegedly playing Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s historic March 7 speech on a sound system in the Dhaka University area.

The incident occurred around 10:30pm.

Earlier in the afternoon, Shahbagh Police detained Asif Ahmed from the Chankharpul area of the capital along with a sound system for playing the March 7 speech. He is a student of the 2018–19 session of the Physics Department at Dhaka University.

According to sources, Asif Ahmed served as the employment affairs secretary of the Dr Muhammad Shahidullah Hall unit of the banned BCL. He has also been accused of involvement in attacks on students participating in the anti-discrimination student movement at Dhaka University on July 15, 2024. A video circulating on social media allegedly shows him taking part in the assault on students.

In addition, his Facebook account mentions his affiliation with the Shahidullah Hall unit of BCL. His name and photograph also appeared in several news reports published in August 2024 in connection with alleged extortion activities in the Dhaka Medical College Hospital area.

Meanwhile, former vice-president of the Shamsunnahar Hall Students’ Union at Dhaka University, Sheikh Tasnim Afroze Emi, organised a programme in front of Shahbagh Police Station demanding Asif’s release. Emi was also a candidate for the vice-president post in the 2025 DUCSU election from the left-leaning student alliance panel “Protirodh Parshad”.

In a Facebook post, Emi wrote, “I will be in front of Shahbagh Police Station by 9:15pm. Bangabandhu’s speech will be played. Let’s see whose father can detain how many people. I urge all pro-liberation supporters to come.”

In another earlier post, she wrote, “Until the Dhaka University student detained from Chankharpul is released, we want to play the March 7 speech on campus every day. Who will stand with us?”

When the programme began, Emi and a group started playing the March 7 speech on loudspeakers in front of Shahbagh Police Station. Some activists of the banned BCL were also seen near the programme venue, though they stayed a short distance away.

Among those present were Abdullah Al Mamun, assistant secretary of the BCL unit at Zahurul Haq Hall, and member Arif Monwar Mahin. Both have also been accused of participating in the July 15 attack on Dhaka University students.

During the programme, a group approached from the direction of Shahbagh Police Station and vandalised the microphone, taking away its battery. They were heard saying, “Awami League and their associates will not be spared.” Their identities could not be immediately confirmed.

Following the incident, Emi wrote on Facebook that they had been attacked without provocation. “The children of Razakars attacked us. They snatched the microphone battery. They also tried to take the microphone, but we resisted. So much fear and insecurity! But someone will stand up. You cannot suppress everyone,” she wrote.

Later, several leaders of Dhaka University Chhatra Shakti arrived in front of Shahbagh Police Station chanting slogans against the Awami League and BCL.

Around 11pm, Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) social welfare secretary AB Zubayer and literary secretary Mosaddeq Ali Ibn Mohammad, along with other Chhatra Shakti leaders, brought the microphone inside the Shahbagh Police Station premises, leading to another scuffle.

At one point, a group dragged BCL activist Al Mamun inside the police station to hand him over to the police.

Regarding the matter, Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Ramna Zone Masud Alam said, “We have learned that the detained person is a posted leader of the Chhatra League. Since the Chhatra League is banned and we have found some links to their controversial role during the July movement, he is not being released now. Legal action will be taken.”

Commenting on the loudspeaker used in front of the police station, he said, “Playing a microphone in front of Shahbagh Police Station appears to be a deliberate act.”

About the March 7 speech, he added, “It is a historic speech. We have no comment regarding that.”