Protest spreads, cries for justice getting stronger

General students, who have joined in from several parts of Dhaka, block Shahbagh, one of the key thoroughfares in Dhaka, on March 27, 2016. Photo: Collected from Facebook.

With no remarkable progress in the murder case of Comilla college student Sohagi Jahan Tonu, protests are surfacing everywhere.

Starting from protest rallies to “road march”  and road blockades, general students and activists are trying hard to catch the attention of authorities and pursue for justice.

Students of different educational institutions come out with protest at Shahbagh in Dhaka demanding immediate arrest of the culprits. Photo: Star

READ MORE: Can justice ever be done to Tonu?

A week into the passing after Tonu’s murder, students today blocked a key intersection in Dhaka, brought out separate rallies in parts of the country and activists marched to Comilla in protest.

They all allege that Victoria College student Tonu, a 19-year-old whose body was found in Comilla’s Mainamati Cantonment on March 20, was raped before murder.

ALSO READ: Don't forget Tonu

: Gonojagoron Mancha activists hold a rally during their road march towards Comilla from Dhaka demanding justice for murder of Sohagi Jahan Tonu. The rally is held on Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Daudkandi upazila of Comilla on Sunday, March 27, 2016. Photo: STAR

Activists of left-leaning student bodies Bangladesh Chhatra Union and Samajtantrik Chhatra Front joined the protest programme. Another organisation, Swapnolok, marched to Uttara from Shahbagh demanding the same, reports Bangla daily Prothom Alo.

In Dhaka, students of privately-run institutions East West University, North South University and Stamford University came out with protest processions demanding immediate arrest of the culprits.

Activists of Bangladesh Chhatra Federation bring out a flash procession in Chittagong city demanding justice for the “rape and murder” of Tonu oon March 27, 2016. Photo: Collected from Facebook

In Chittagong, people from different walks of life took to the streets.

Nearly 10,000 protesters formed human chain that stretched from Chittagong Press Club to the Cheragi Pahar area, our Chittagong University correspondent reported from the spot.

In Comilla, general students blockaded Dhaka-Chittagong highway. They lit fires and blocked the road, halting vehicular movement on the important highway for some time.

Meanwhile, social media have been hot on this issue as users from majority quarters in Bangladesh voiced out to the cause. Posters have been made and floated in tribute and rage over the incident.

General students of Dhaka University form a human chain at the base of Raju Bhaskorjo, a sculpture that speaks out for general students, on March 27, 2016. Photo: Collected from Facebook

A case has already been filed with Comilla’s Kotwali Police Station in this regard accusing unknown assailants, by the victim’s father Year Hossain. No one has been arrested yet.

Last Friday, the case was handed over to the Detective Branch.