A group of Dhaka University students have staged a demonstration to protest and demand justice over the murder of former East West University student Tajbir Hossain Shihan and American International University Bangladesh (AIUB) student Md. Wazed Simanto and the recovery of the body of an unidentified young woman from a lake in Badda.

The march began on Tuesday (December 17) night in front of the university's Raju Sculpture under the banner of 'Dhaka University Students'.

The banner of the students' march read 'Protest march at the foot of Raju Sculpture to protest and demand justice for the assassination of three comrades of the July Uprising and the anti-Indian aggression movement.'

The march passed through VC Chattar and Halpara and ended at Raju Sculpture. Dhaka University students and leaders of the anti-discrimination student movement delivered brief speeches during the march.

Former coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement, Abdul Quader, said, in Bangladesh, the bodies of revolutionaries on whose shoulders Bangladesh gained independence lie on the streets. The interim government, which came to power by trampling on the blood of revolutionaries, is playing a passive and indifferent role in this matter. This is a bad sign. You have forgotten our dreams and expectations. We have to do politics in this country with the mandate of the students and the people.

He also said, we have seen in the past - ministers of the Awami League government used to say where are the corrupt, today we have also seen the Home Affairs Adviser said - where did Obaidul Quader stay, we will arrest them. In the past, if a dissident person whispers somewhere, it is known in a minute. Now, what are the police administration ministers and bureaucrats doing, we want answers. Chhatra League is still roaming around in different places of Dhaka at 32, carrying out attacks, meetings, processions, conspiracies. Yet the administration is playing a passive role, we condemn it.

After the rally, Abu Baker Majumdar, former coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement, said in a message sent to journalists, the current law and order situation in the country is gradually becoming dire. The brutal deaths of two university students and an unidentified person in just six days have painted a terrible picture of the security system in our society. Dreamy young people like Wazed Simanto and Tajbir Hossain Shihan are losing their lives at the hands of miscreants, which is destroying the future of the nation on the one hand, and showing the failure of the law enforcement agencies on the other. Incidentally, miscreants hacked Tajbir Hossain Shihan, a student of East West University, to death in Kaliakoir, Gazipur, in the early hours of last Thursday (December 12). On the same day, Mohammad Simanto, a student of American International University, was stabbed to death by a robber in Narayanganj. Two days later, on Saturday, he died while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. The body of Sujana, a class 12 student of Bhashantek Government College, was recovered from Rupganj Lake in Narayanganj on Tuesday (December 17) morning.

40 more people have been added as central members of the National Citizens Committee. As a result, the number of members of the committee has increased to 147.

On Tuesday (December 17) night, National Citizens Committee spokesperson Samantha Sharmin announced the addition of 40 new members in a press release.

The notification said that with the aim of abolishing the fascist system and implementing a new political settlement and to maintain the spirit (consciousness) of the student-people's uprising, 40 more people have been added as part of the ongoing process of expanding the central committee of the National Citizens Committee. This brings the total number of central members of the National Citizens Committee to 147.

The new members are - Azad Khan Bhasani, Fariba Haider, Tariq Adnan Moon, Tina Nandi, Rummana Jannat, Khan Muhammad Mursalin, Mostaq Ahmed (Shishir), Towhid Tanzim, Anjali Soren, Afsana Chapa, Mir Habib Al Manzur, Syed Jamil, Saddam Hossain, Mir Lokman, Ripa Kundu, Mahmudur Rahman Shuvro, Fariha Sultana Ami, Shakib Shahriar, Abdullah Al Mansur, Belal Ahmed Chowdhury, Engineer Abul Bashar, Emon Syed, Syed Farhad, Rahmat Ullah, Dr. Moniruzzaman, Tahiatun Maryam, Mahbub Alam, Azad Ahmed Patwari, Kazi Ashrafur Rahman, Nafiul Islam, Tahsina Mehreen Anindita, Dr. Jahedul Islam, Tamim Ahmed, Muntasir Mahmud, Tuhin Mahmud, Shawkat Ali, Md. Abdur Rahman, Abdullah Masud Sweet, Sabit Al Hasan and Riaz Morshed.

The Awami League government fell on August 5 in a student-public uprising. The anti-discrimination student movement led this uprising. With the aim of implementing one point of the student-public uprising (abolition of the fascist system and new political settlement), a 55-member National Citizens Committee was formed on September 13 with Nasiruddin Patwari as the convener, Akhtar Hossain as the member secretary and Samantha Sharmin as the spokesperson.

In response to the requests of Hajj agencies and pilgrims, the registration period for both government and private Hajj pilgrims has been extended by 8 more days.

This information was given in a notification signed by Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Religion Mamun Al Faruque on Tuesday (December 17).

The notification said that the registration period for both government and private Hajj pilgrims has been extended from December 19 to December 26, 2024. During this period, initial registration can be done by depositing Tk. 3 lakh and at the same time, the honorable pilgrims are specially requested to make final registration by paying the full amount of the Hajj package.

The notification also said that in view of the requests of Hajj agencies and pilgrims, the said period has been extended. However, the notification also mentioned that there is no further extension of time after that.

It is worth noting that the period was extended by 15 days as the desired Hajj pilgrims did not register on November 28.

Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya has been reappointed as a member of the UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP) for another three years. This marks his third consecutive term as a member of the UN CDP.

Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya is an Honorary Fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a research organization, and the Convener of the Citizens’ Platform for SDG Implementation, Bangladesh. He is the Head of the White Paper Preparation Committee on the Economy of the Interim Government.

This information was given in a press release by the Centre for Policy Dialogue on Tuesday (December 17).

It said that Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya will serve as a member of the UN CDP for the third time from January 1 next year. The UN Secretary-General has nominated Debapriya Bhattacharya for re-appointment to this position. Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya has been serving as a member of the UN CDP since 2018.

The CDP reviews the list of least developed countries (LDCs) every three years. The committee makes recommendations to ECOSOC and the UN General Assembly on inclusion and graduation based on set criteria. The new CDP committee will, among other things, review Bangladesh's graduation from LDC status in December 2026.