The government has officially banned the activities of the Chhatra League

The government has officially banned the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the Awami League, declaring it a terrorist organization. This announcement was made by the Home Ministry through a notification issued on Wednesday.

The decision came just ahead of a deadline set by the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and the Jatiya Nagorik Committee, which had demanded the ban by Thursday. The notification stated that the BCL, particularly over the past 15 years of authoritarian rule, had engaged in activities that posed significant threats to public safety, including murder, torture, oppression on campuses, manipulation of student dormitory seats, tender irregularities, rape, and sexual harassment. These actions had been documented by major media outlets, and some members of the organization had been proven guilty of involvement in terrorist activities in court.

The statement further detailed that since the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement began on 15 July, BCL leaders and activists had launched violent attacks on protesting students and civilians, leading to hundreds of deaths and putting many others' lives at risk. 

Moreover, the government found evidence that even after the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August, BCL continued to engage in conspiratorial and destructive activities against the state, including acts of terrorism. 

In response to these findings, the Bangladesh Chhatra League has been officially banned under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 and listed as a prohibited organization in Schedule 2 of the law, with immediate effect.