Activists’ Arrests No Surprise, Says Fatema

Five leaders from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and the Democratic Student Council were recently arrested by police in Gulshan on charges of extortion. In response to the incident, Umama Fatema, former spokesperson of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, expressed strong criticism in a post published on her Facebook account late on Saturday (26 July).

Allegations and Observations from Umama Fatema

In her post, Umama Fatema reacted with little surprise to the arrest, indicating that the arrested individuals had long-standing involvement in questionable activities. She wrote:

“Many of my acquaintances are pretending to be so shocked by the news of the five individuals involved in extortion that it feels like I’m the least surprised one here.
These young men were often seen escorting leaders with protocol—whether at the Secretariat or during marches, rallies, or even clashes. They had become the right and left hands of the organisers.
There were already numerous internal complaints against them involving the gang culture of Gulshan and Banani.”

Personal Encounter and Past Incidents

Umama recalled a personal incident involving one of the accused:

“The boy named Riyad in the photo had behaved extremely inappropriately in front of me at Rupayan Tower last December.
When we, a group of girls, tried to stop him, he aggressively turned on us.
Upon investigating further, I discovered he already had allegations against him for threats, physical assault, and extortion.”.

She added that the presence of such individuals had already become evident within the movement:

“It was common to see these people freely moving in and out of Rupayan Tower.
If anyone complained about corruption or dishonesty, they were met with complete silence.
I personally witnessed how these very people gained unrestricted access at the end of the day.”

Disillusionment with the Platform

Umama Fatema expressed deep disappointment with the current state of the platform she once represented:

“Now, looking back at this platform, I have no words.
Everyone who could, has contributed to its deterioration in their own way.”

She criticised the reactions of people around her as hypocritical and naïve:

“It’s almost laughable how so many are acting surprised about the extortion allegations.
As if they just discovered, like newborns, that these boys were capable of this behaviour.
I’m sorry, but this is the first time they’ve been caught, not the first time they’ve committed extortion.”

Summary of Key Allegations and Concerns

Umama Fatema concluded her remarks by reaffirming her belief that the issue runs far deeper than it appears on the surface:

“If you dig a little deeper, you’ll find that their roots run much deeper than anyone is willing to admit.”