Cumilla (South) Correspondent

The brutal murder of Anik, a Chhatra League leader of Laksam Municipality in Cumilla, has stirred public outrage as various information about the incident has surfaced. 

Specially in a widely discussed incident in Laksam, there are allegations that local BNP leaders and activists are being falsely implicated in a fabricated case, which has caused widespread resentment among the locals.

It is learnt that ahead of the national elections held on January 7, 2024, the local Awami League allegedly took a planned initiative to thwart BNP’s various programs and to intimidate and displace BNP leaders and activists in Laksam. Throughout Laksam, they reportedly carried out chaos and violence using Chhatra League and Jubo League members. In continuation of that, on June 21, 2023, in the South Laksam Bypass area, a minor incident between two Chhatra League groups led to Anik, a leader of one group, being slightly injured. While undergoing treatment at a hospital in Dhaka, he reportedly died under suspicious circumstances. This death was allegedly used as a pretext by the Awami League to frame local BNP leaders and activists.

Multiple local sources claim that the much-discussed brutal murder in Laksam was a planned and politically motivated attack. From that very day, Awami League leaders and activists reportedly launched a spree of destruction on the homes and businesses of BNP leaders. They allegedly orchestrated the death of their own leader Anik in a premeditated manner while he was under treatment, and pinned the blame on BNP leaders. While an injured individual should have been receiving care in a safe hospital environment, the Chhatra League reportedly disrupted the security of the hospital in Dhaka that day. Anik’s life was allegedly taken in a cruel and barbaric way by his own party, which left the entire Laksam community in shock. Locals believe that multiple top leaders of the Awami League were involved in this staged incident.

In this case, several BNP leaders including district Jubo Dal leader Saimun Rahman Rocky, Sakil, SM Tajul Islam Khokon, Army Faruk, Abul Hossain Milon, and Tipu Sultan were implicated in the false case. Even prominent senior journalist Moshior Rahman Selim, a founding member of the Laksam Press Club and a widely known figure in the Cumilla media, was arrested and jailed for almost two months. His house and business establishments were destroyed. The journalist’s family faced multiple inhumane acts of violence and chaos by the Awami League, which was unprecedented in the history of Laksam.

Another local source said that the incident escalated from a trivial matter to a horrifying one due to its political motivations, and that interference by influential Awami League figures at the time obstructed a fair and impartial investigation. Locals demand that the case be reinvestigated with full independence and neutrality so that the truth comes out and justice can be served. This incident not only cost a life, but also destroyed a family’s future. A fearless journalist's family was devastated. The entire Laksam community was silenced. Locals hope that no one else becomes a victim of such cruelty and dirty politics again.