Staff Reporter :
A Dhaka court sent 377 Ansars, including two female members, to jail in connection with Sunday night’s clashes between Ansar force members, students, and others in front of the Secretariat gates in Dhaka.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Saifur Rahman ordered their confinement after police presented them before the court, said a sub-inspector working in the court.
Out of the 377 Ansar members, 191 were arrested in a case filed with Shahbagh Police Station.
Additional arrests included 85 members at Ramna Police Station, 95 at Paltan Model Police Station, and six at Airport Police Station.
Despite government assurances of fulfilling their demands, Ansar members continued to demonstrate, blocking the Secretariat gates and clashing with students and the public. The clashes left at least 50 people injured.
The violence erupted around 9:20 PM when students and others attempted to disperse the protesting Ansar members, according to witnesses.
The situation escalated when hundreds of students and others, many armed with sticks, gathered at the Secretariat, angered by the Ansar members’ continued blockade despite assurances from the government.
The Ansar members have been demanding the nationalization of their jobs.
Who Was Behind the Ansar Movement?
A key figure behind the recent Ansar movement is Major General Amin, the younger brother of former Minister Enamul Haque Shamim. Amin, a former leader of the Jahangirnagar University Chhatra League and later the President of the Central Chhatra League, served as the recently retired Director General of the Ansar force.
During his tenure as a Brigadier, Amin spent a long time in London as a Defense Attaché, where his primary task was to monitor BNP’s Acting Chairman Mr. Tarique Rahman and relay information about his activities to the fugitive Hasina.
To accomplish this, he increased the manpower of his office and used trusted party leaders and activists loyal to Enamul Haque Shamim.
Due to his dedicated service in London until 2020, the fugitive Hasina promoted him to Brigadier General and later to Major General in 2021.
As part of a strategic plan, he was appointed the Director General of the Ansar force in 2022.
Major General Amin worked to transform the Ansar force into a powerful paramilitary unit by recruiting thousands of youths associated with the Chhatra League, Jubo League, and Awami League.
He formed a new unit within the Ansar force called the Ansar Guard Battalion (AGB), equipping them with heavy weapons and preparing them for any operation to protect the fugitive Hasina government.
He provided full military training to the regular Ansar members and armed them with modern weapons, ensuring they could replace the police if necessary.
This preparation was reminiscent of the Rakkhi Bahini, which was formed with members of the Mujib Bahini and Kaderia Bahini in 1972.
Many have compared the Rakkhi Bahini to the Nazi or Gestapo forces for their actions between 1972 and 1975.
Similarly, the Ansar force played a significant role alongside the police in the 2018 national elections.
On election day in 2024, Major General Amin distributed Ansar uniforms to Chhatra League members to ensure the victory of the fugitive Hasina.
The Ansar force’s success pleased the fugitive Hasina government so much that they decided to rename the Ansar force as the ‘Bangladesh National Guard.’
The entire plan for the Ansar rebellion was prepared by Major General Amin after August 5.