Students issue 24-hour ultimatum

The Detective Branch (DB) of police took two more coordinators of the anti-discrimination student movement Sarjis Alam and Hasnat Abdullah into their custody on July 27 last year while the protesters issued a 24-hour ultimatum with three-point demands, reports BSS.
DB Additional Deputy Commissioner Zunaid Alam Sarkar on that day told the reporters that the movement coordinators were taken into DB custody for interrogation over the incidents that took place during the movement and for their own safety.

Earlier, in the afternoon on July 26, three other coordinators Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain and Abu Baker Majumdar were also taken to the DB custody.
Besides, that night, the anti-discrimination student movement leaders in an online press conference rejected the gazette notification issued over the quota reform, saying that it didn't reflect the court's ruling or students' original demands.
They issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the government with three fresh demands and warned of announcing tougher programmes if these demands were not met.
The three-point demand included; immediate release of all detained students including movement coordinators, withdrawal of all cases filed against students and taking action against those responsible for killing students.
Speaking at the press conference, one of the movement coordinators Mahin Sarkar said, "The government is claiming that our demands have been met, but our core demand was to form a commission to resolve the issue. That hasn't happened, so we reject the gazette notification." Another coordinator, Abdul Hannan Masud stated that over 3,000 students were arrested and multiple cases were filed against movement coordinators across the country.
He said they would carry out a combined online and offline public outreach campaigns across the country, submit petitions to foreign embassies and draw graffiti on walls across the country on July 28.
The movement leaders also said that at least 266 people were killed during the protest. They said most of the cases filed against students were fabricated.
The movement leaders announced to form a nationwide "Health Force" involving educational institutions at all levels to prepare a comprehensive list of the people who were killed or injured during the movement and provide financial and psychological assistance to the affected families, and establish a "Legal Force" to document legal cases and ensure legal support for students on July 29.
Earlier, in the afternoon on July 27, a 12-member delegation of the University Teachers' Network visited the DB office to inquire about the detained coordinators. Despite waiting for 15 to 20 minutes, they were not allowed to meet with the senior DB officials.
On the same day, Nobel Laureate Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus, now chief adviser of the interim government, at an interview with The Hindu, an Indian English-language daily, called for a fresh election within a short timeframe to restore democracy.