Chittagong: A group of young people, led by a leader of the National Citizens’ Party (NCP), occupied the Chittagong North District Awami League office on Tuesday, October 21. The incident took place at the Dost Building located in New Market, the city.
The occupation was led by Arif Moinuddin, joint coordinator of the NCP Chittagong City Committee and former convener of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. Other leaders of the movement were also present. A video circulating on social media shows the youths vandalizing the mural of Bangabandhu on the office’s front wall.
The occupied building also houses offices of various political and social organizations, including BNP, BASAD, and Ganasanghati Andolan. The office had been vandalized once after the student-people uprising on August 5. Since then, the building had remained locked.
Arif Moinuddin stated that Awami League leaders and activists used to hold meetings in the building at night. After speaking with the security guard, they broke the lock, entered, and began monitoring the office’s activities. He further mentioned that the building was largely abandoned and had been in a dilapidated condition since 1971.
Abdul Karim, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kotwali Police Station in the city, said that so far they have not received any complaints regarding the incident, but an inquiry is underway.