Former Chhatra League leader now joint convener of Chhatra Dal

A former leader of the banned organization Chhatra League has been given a post in the newly formed convening committee of Chhatra Dal’s Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University branch in Trishal, Mymensingh. The incident has sparked discussion and criticism across the campus. It has been alleged that Chhatra League’s law faculty committee vice-president Tofail Ahmed has taken the post of joint convener in the new committee of Chhatra Dal after the political changes.
On Wednesday (July 8), a circular signed by central Chhatra Dal president Rakibul Islam Rakib and general secretary Nasir Uddin Nasir approved the 68-member convening committee of Chhatra Dal’s Kabi Nazrul University branch. Habibur Rahman Habib, a student of the 2016-17 academic year of the Fine Arts Department, has been made the convener and Maruf Hasan (Mamun Sarkar), a student of the 2015-16 academic year of the Film and Media Department, has been made the member secretary.
After the committee was announced, a controversy erupted when Tofail Ahmed’s name was revealed as the joint convener. It has been alleged that Tofail Ahmed, a student of the 2016-17 academic year of the university’s Law and Justice Department, had been involved in Chhatra League politics for a long time. He was the vice-president of Chhatra League committee number 7 of the Law Faculty. After the political change, he joined Chhatra Dal politics and was given the responsibility of joint convener number 7 in the announced committee.
Md. Mohin Uddin, a student of the 2016-17 academic year of the Law and Justice Department and a leader of the banned Chhatra League, has alleged that Tofail Ahmed blackmailed him by threatening to file a case against him and demanded a ransom of two lakh taka on the condition that he not file a case.
However, Tofail Ahmed denied the allegation and said, “The allegation that Mohin Uddin has made about filing a case against me or demanding a ransom of two lakh taka is completely false, baseless and motivated.” When asked about the allegations, Tofail Ahmed said, “At that time, the influence of the banned Awami League was everywhere. Due to the reality of the campus and the residential hall, I had to strategically attend some of the then Chhatra League events. We are children of a middle-class family. Many times, we had to compromise with the situation for fear of losing our student identity. Sometimes we were forcibly taken to their events, which is known to ordinary university students.” He further claimed, “Since 2022, even before 2024, I have been openly doing Chhatra Party politics through Facebook posts and video messages. I have all kinds of evidence in this regard.” In this regard, Habibur Rahman Habib, convener of the Chhatra Party’s university branch, said that the matter was verified before the committee was formed. Tofail Ahmed was active in the July Movement and also participated in various Chhatra Dal programs. Considering these, he has been kept in the committee. Even then, if evidence of his active involvement with Chhatra League is found, the matter will be investigated and action will be taken according to organizational rules.