Eight leftist groups cancel protest march, hold brief rally

Eight leftist organisations have called off a planned march in the city to demand justice for murders and rapes, along with the removal of the home affairs advisor. In light of the "overall situation", they decided to hold a brief rally instead, reports bdnews24.com.

The rally began at 11:30 am on Saturday and lasted for about half an hour before Bangladesh Students' Union President Mahir Shahriar Reza announced the cancellation of the procession.

"Attempts are being made to create chaos around our programme. Intelligence agencies have advised us to shorten or cancel the event. However, threats and intimidation won't silence us," he said.

"Considering the overall situation in the country, we are postponing the planned march from the Central Shaheed Minar to the TSC and ending today's programme."

Tensions had been building since the eve of the event after writer and online activist Pinaki Bhattacharya called for turning the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), office in Paltan into a "people's office for students and the public" -- a move widely seen as a response to the leftist organisations' planned rally.

Despite the tensions, the situation around the CPB headquarters remained calm under the increased presence of law enforcers. The rally, which was initially set to begin at Shaheed Minar, pass through Dhaka University's VC square, and end at the TSC, was ultimately called off.