By Saiful Islam

DHAKA, August 3, 2025 (BSS) - During the peak of the movement, I was almost completely cut off from my family.  We mobilized the movement that eventually ousted fascist Sheikh Hasina.

Nur Novi said one day, before heading to the protest ground, I called my mother and brother and told them, "If I make it out alive, I’ll call in the evening. If not, we’ll meet in heaven.’ That’s how those days went — soaked in fear and uncertainty.”

This is how Nur Novi, the chief coordinator of Jagannath University, described the fiery days of the 2024 anti-discrimination student movement. He is currently a second-semester Master’s student in the Department of Islamic Studies (2019–20 session) at Jagannath University.

Noor had to pay a high price for leading the movement and he was subjected to severe torture. He was physically and psychologically abused under the guise of “remand” and was even taken for what he believed to be an execution in a staged “crossfire.”

Born in the village of Sultanpur in Debidwar upazila of Cumilla, Nur was a focused student from early childhood, dreaming of a society free from injustice. However, because he had studied at Sultanpur Fazil Madrasa, he was labeled a “Shibir” or “militant” as early as his first year at university. Despite the absence of any evidence, efforts were made to expel him due to the political environment.

In a recent exclusive interview with Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), Nur shared his involvement in the anti-discrimination movement and the brutal experiences he endured.

On July 19, 2024, Nur was picked up by DB police in front of Jagannath University. Recounting the incident, he said, “Around 11 am, a few of us gathered at the university gate for a rally. Police were already there. At one point, a group of DB and riot police surrounded 15–20 of us. That’s when we realized — there’s no turning back now. We either survive or we die — those were the only two options.”

Nur continued: “Our teacher, Jahangir Alam Sir, told us, ‘I’ll give you a safe exit. Everyone leave with me.’ I stayed behind, letting everyone go ahead. I wanted to make sure everyone got out safely. Just then, a DB vehicle pulled up. One officer grabbed my left arm tightly — my right arm was already broken and in a sling.”

“As they shoved me into the vehicle, the officer yelled, ‘Shoot them! Don’t let a single one escape,’ My brothers behind me were advancing, and the police opened fire on them too,” Nur said.

“They started beating me inside the vehicle. I realized if no one witnessed where they were taking me, they could make me disappear. So I screamed out, ‘Brothers! They’re taking me!’ That enraged them even more. One officer shouted, ‘So, you think you're some leader now? Waving your hand like a hero?”

The torture began after he was taken to DB office. At the DB office on Minto Road, they blindfolded him with three layers of cloth, stripped him naked, and isolated him in a dark, silent room.

“They first made me sit on a chair, then made me stand and gave me electric shocks — even through urination. My body trembled uncontrollably. I collapsed. They injected something into my left arm. Then the real beating began.”

“They struck my left arm hard with something like a baton, saying, ‘Your right arm was broken by Chhatra League — we’ll break the other one.’ They knew it was already broken.”

Then came a moment that broke him further — they played a recording of his phone call to his mother: “They played my phone conversation where I said, ‘If I survive, I’ll call you. Otherwise, we’ll meet in heaven.’ They said, ‘Only a Shibir man would say something like that.”

“They beat me again. ‘Your teachers said you’re in Shibir. You’re a militant.’ That’s when I realized — my information came from inside the university itself.”

The DB Deputy Commissioner said, “Forget him. Go pick up some more from Islamic Studies.” Nur said he realized then that this wasn’t just political — it was also religious discrimination.

That evening, around 7 pm, they took him again — this time blindfolded to an unknown location.

“They made me kneel. Then opened my blindfold just a little. ‘Police are hanging people in Rayerbagh. Four dead in Lakshmibazar. It’s your fault.’ They beat me again, this time with me lying face-up, arms under my chest. They struck from my soles to my back. Then they took me to the DB lockup.”

The next night, on July 20, they told him: “You’re getting a crossfire. Go wash yourself.”

“DB Harun came close and said, ‘Why is he still alive? Finish the crossfire now.”

“I don’t remember much from that day, only around 11 or 12 at night, they blindfolded and shoved us into a vehicle. We thought it was over. With me were Masum Billah, Joint General Secretary of Chhatra Dal, and Nizam and another person whose name I forget. Masum Bhai said, ‘Those who went before never came back. Looks like it’s our turn now.”

Then, something unexpected happened... “Near Shahbagh, beside a flower shop, they stopped and got us out. In front of us, they fired 25 to 30 rounds. Then they uncovered our eyes. They gave me a sack — I later found out it had cocktails inside. They gave another person a shotgun. They posed the rest of us and staged the scene — took pictures, recorded video. Then they took us to court and got a three-day remand.”

On the experience of remand, Nur said, “The trauma from the earlier torture was still fresh. But the worst was the electric shocks. I didn’t feel the pain immediately — it came later. My body went numb. There was no medical treatment.”

“At court, I had no one — no lawyer, no family. Later, I heard that some DU student lawyers stood up for us. Advocate Mujahidul Islam represented me — someone I didn’t know before.”

About the origins of the movement, he said, “The quota reform movement was at first a simple, just demand — to abolish the 56 percent quota and ensure merit-based recruitment. It was a movement of ordinary students. Jagannath University students were vocal from that space.”

In the early days, Nur didn’t take a front-line role. Because of the political label on him, he didn’t want to jeopardize the movement. But after a crucial meeting on June 30 in Dhaka, where a nationwide movement was planned, he joined as an organizer.

“From July 1, the movement spread across the country. At Jagannath, we held regular rallies. But after police fired on students at Comilla University on July 11, everything changed. A leadership vacuum emerged at Jagannath. Many withdrew. That’s when I stepped up — no longer afraid of my political identity. I led the students of Jagannath back into the streets. This time, there was no turning back.”

He added, “Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan stayed in constant contact with us. We always knew where to be and how to move. We weren’t just students of Jagannath — we were a fearless band of warriors answering the call of our time.”

Nur Novi said, “On 14th July, every student's heart in the country beat with one rhythm: end discrimination. As part of that goal, a memorandum was to be submitted to the President. The march would begin from the Dhaka University Library. According to that plan, we set off with a massive procession from Jagannath University. Our procession was so huge that many said it was even bigger than the one from Dhaka University. When we united, the voices of the students shook the very heart of the city.”

He said that on the way to the President's residence, an artificial traffic jam was created in Gulistan, and the procession was blocked by police barricades. “That day, when Swarna Riya of Jagannath University stood face-to-face with the police, it wasn’t just a picture—it was blazing history. When her photo was published on the front page of Al Jazeera, we realized that we weren’t just walking on the streets—we were walking through history.”

After submitting the memorandum, we returned to our campus. Upon our return, we saw that then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in a press conference, had called the students “grandchildren of Razakars.” No one could accept such a statement. A storm of anger erupted among the students against fascist Hasina.

NurNovi’s voice still trembles as he says, “A head of state called the future generation of the country Razakars—we couldn’t remain silent. Around midnight, the students of Jagannath University came out onto the streets. The female students of the university’s only dormitory broke open the gate lock and spontaneously took to the streets, blocking the Tatibazar intersection. At that time, students chanted slogans expressing their rage: ‘Who are you? Who am I? / Razakar, Razakar / Who said it? Who said it? / A dictator! A dictator!”

Nur Novi said that for 15 July, it had been announced there would be another procession at noon. When the march gathered at the Dhaka University grounds, Jagannath University had the highest turnout. “Their dorms were shut down, and many students couldn’t come. But we were there. We knew this wasn’t just a procession—this was a moment to stand before history.”

But that procession didn’t remain peaceful. As we passed by Surja Sen Hall, Bijoy 71 Hall, and Zia Hall areas, we were attacked by a coordinated assault from Chhatra League. “They pounced on us.”

There was no anger in Nur Novi’s voice, only pride. “That day, we didn’t just stand for justice. We stood out of respect for the country, for our identity, and for the rights of future generations. And we screamed at the top of our lungs: None of us are Razakars.”

NurNovi recounted the horrific experiences of 15 July, when armed Chhatra League members attacked the students protesting at Dhaka University campus. According to him, the students were attacked with firearms in a premeditated assault, leaving many seriously injured.

Nur Novi shared that the day before the attack, money was distributed among Chhatra League members as part of the preparation. “A video of Polok distributing the money went viral on social media. We had no weapons. But they had everything.”

He further stated that an announcement was made on the loudspeaker for the protesters to take position at the VC Chattar, which was being called a “safe zone.” Most of the participants in the protest were students from Jagannath University and Dhaka University, including a large number of female students.

At that time, the female students got stuck in front of Surja Sen Hall as there were no male protesters ahead to ensure their safety. So the male students from Jagannath University moved forward to protect them and gradually took position at the VC Chattar.

It was then that Chhatra League members suddenly launched an attack with local weapons. They came running with iron rods, wooden sticks, and tree roots. The protesters retreated to save their lives and took shelter under the shade of two red buses. Most of those hiding there were students from Jagannath University. Soon, bricks and stones started raining down from above. Many suffered head injuries. Blood spilled onto the tiles. Nur Novi said, “It felt like Azrael himself had descended upon us from Surja Sen Hall.”

The targeted beatings and stone-pelting continued for almost half an hour. At one point, the Chhatra League members declared, “Leave, we won’t harm you.” The wounded protesters began to come out slowly. Nur Novi said, “Just like players enter the field one by one after singing the national anthem before a football match—we were coming out just like that. And they were beating us one by one.”

Among those critically injured were Evan, the convener of Jagannath University’s Student Front, and Siam, the co-organizer of the anti-discrimination student movement. Siam’s head was split open; his photo later went viral on social media.

NurNovi himself suffered a severe injury to his right hand and lost consciousness near the main gate of Dhaka University. When he regained consciousness, he found himself on a rickshaw near Ray Shaheb Bazar intersection. Beside him was Swarna Riya—known as the “Fire Girl” of JnU—who had rescued him and taken him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

However, upon hearing that Chhatra League might attack the emergency department of Dhaka Medical, he was moved to National Medical College Hospital. That evening, fearing another attack there, he was relocated to a safe zone.

He said, “Though my right hand was broken, it hadn’t been put in a cast yet. That night, a family gave me shelter in their home, and a doctor came there and plastered my hand.”

Nur Novi said, “Even now, when I go to the DU campus, I feel like crying. I can’t bear it. I’ve never seen such horror before.” That day, Chhatra League activists who came on four buses from Jagannath University participated in the attack, physically assaulting even female students.

Nur Novi said, “After what happened on 15 July, we understood this wasn’t just an isolated attack—there was clear political backing behind it. We decided that on 16 July, we would take to the streets again.” The next day, at 2 pm on 16 July, general students of Jagannath University initiated a protest march.

At the same time, a pro-government rally by Jubo League was taking place in Victoria Park. There were allegations that Jubo League members confined two students inside the park. General students rushed to rescue them, and from there, the protest grew even larger.

NurNovi said that as the protest march moved from the campus toward Tatibazar, Councilor Choton and his associates fired directly at them from inside the CMM Court premises. “Four of our brothers—Anik, Ferdous, Nasim, and Naim—were shot.”

After the incident, students staged a sit-in at the Tatibazar intersection for nearly six hours. Toward evening, we returned to campus. But that night, one event deepened and intensified the movement. “When we got home that evening, we saw the video of Abu Sayeed being shot. We learned that Abu Sayeed was no more. Along with him, six more of our brothers had been martyred. The entire campus erupted in grief and fury.”

The next day, 17 July, students took to the streets in an even larger demonstration. They presented six demands, which included: banning Chhatra League’s politics, action against the university administration, halting the eviction of female students from dorms, and resignation of the proctor and transport authority.

“We had made it clear: the university had helped the Chhatra League, provided them with buses, handed them weapons. The administration must take responsibility for that,” said Nur Novi.

On 17 July, a symbolic funeral prayer (gayebanajanaza) was held. Thousands of students participated, commemorating martyrs like Abu Sayeed. By then, the movement was no longer just against a student organization — it had turned into a protest against a specific policy of repression and state-sponsored violence.

Nur Novi said, “In the evening, we decided to hold a massive rally at the Dholairpar intersection on 18 July. Our goal was to resist pro-government forces in South Dhaka and surrounding areas and draw public attention.”

But that very night, things began to take a turn. Rumors surfaced that the police were preparing for a raid. Nur Novi said that a then-leader of Chhatra Shibir warned him: “You need to leave your house and cross the river tonight. Your place is going to be raided.” As soon as he stepped out, police raided his mess.

Nur Novi said that although students waited until noon on 18 July, due to leadership vacuum and severe insecurity, the rally couldn’t be organized that day.

However, he added, “Even though we couldn’t take to the streets, the spirit of resistance had already spread across the entire city. After that day, the Chhatra League never dared to return to the campus again.”

On the July 23, after being held on remand, he was sent to prison. Amid continued torture, he learned that Hasnat, Nahid, and others had also been picked up.

Nur Novi said, “On 23 July, I was sent to Keraniganj Central Jail. I was kept in Ward No. 2 of Building No. 3 in the Meghna section. Forget about medical care— even the most basic human rights felt like a luxury in prison. When I entered, both of my arms were broken. My entire body was in excruciating pain. It wasn’t just that I couldn’t lie on my left or right side — I couldn’t even sleep on my back. My back, thighs, and hips throbbed with unbearable pain. Sleep felt like a forbidden thing in there.”

He said that despite repeated requests for treatment, the authorities ignored him. After five or six days, he was taken to the prison hospital upon someone’s recommendation. But there, without any anesthesia, they performed a minor operation to remove bone fragments from his broken arm. They attached a simple elbow sling. No further treatment followed.

Nur Novi said that he wasn’t allowed to leave his cell. Many other students were being arrested and brought into the prison at that time. Whenever someone tried to visit him, the in-charge would threaten him, saying, “If anyone tries to meet you, you’ll be sent to the condemned cell — all alone, no communication with anyone.”

He said, “The most unforgettable day was August 5. Around 9 am, the jail authorities announced: whatever is happening outside, we will remain calm inside. You will be informed of everything. They had realized something big was unfolding outside.”

Nur Novi said, “At 4 pm on August 5, the first news came in — ‘Sheikh Hasina has fled.’ As soon as the announcement was made, uproar broke out among the prisoners. The entire building trembled with their screams!”

Calling August 5, the day of the dictator’s fall, the happiest day of his life, Nur Novi said, “I can’t even express how much joy I felt that day.” Yet, being in prison, he couldn’t celebrate that moment with his fellow comrades — and that left a kind of ache in his heart.
.
The next day, on August 6 at 5:30 pm, he was released. But due to his physical condition, he had to be taken directly to the hospital upon release. He mentioned that he is still undergoing treatment.