Hasnat Abdullah, convener of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, has issued a stern warning against extortionists, saying, "Whoever engages in extortion will have their hands broken.”
Addressing the interim government, he said, "You must govern the country properly. At times, you offer various excuses, saying the syndicate has changed hands or extortion has shifted to new hands. But you were not brought in to make excuses; you were brought in to take action. Now, whoever engages in extortion, their hands will be broken."
He made these remarks on Wednesday (8 January) afternoon while speaking to journalists after a public outreach event at the Comilla Town Hall grounds. Earlier in the day, the Anti-Discrimination Movement and the National Citizen Committee had launched a public outreach campaign and distributed leaflets, starting from Comilla Police Lines.
Hasnat Abdullah also criticized the government's inaction regarding the July Uprising. "The Proclamation of the July Revolution must be announced by 15 January. So many days have passed since 31 December, yet we have not seen any visible steps from the government. The cries of the martyrs and the wounded from the July Uprising still resonate. Bureaucratic complexities have deprived them of their rightful benefits. In post-24 Bangladesh, such bureaucratic excuses will not be tolerated," he said.
He further stated, "After 5 August, the current government should have taken full responsibility for the injured and the families of those killed. However, the government remains indifferent to this matter."
