Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) president Azizul Bari Helal was set free on bail on Thursday in the wake of a meeting between the Dhaka university vice-chancellor and the chief adviser late Wednesday.
Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) general secretary Mahfuzul Haider Chowdhury Roton has been taken to a Mymensingh court and is on way to be freed, a leader of the Awami League-backed student organisation said.
Helal was released at 10:45am from Dhaka Central Jail, Shafiul Bari Babu, general secretary of the BNP's student wing, told us .
Dhaka University VC SMA Faiz had said late Wednesday night that the two would be released by Thursday night, immediately after a meeting with the chief adviser.
The meeting followed a series of violent campaign by the BCL activists on the campus that saw the VC confined inside his office for three hours on Tuesday.
The VC met with the interim government head after the JCD joined the BCL to announce a plan to besiege the home ministry Thursday demanding release of the leaders, proctor AK Firoze told us .
The vice chancellor spoke to the student activists at 8:40 pm, although he was earlier given until 7pm by BCL activists to redress the arrest of Roton on charges of violating emergency powers rules.
He spoke to the student leaders for about 20 minutes before leaving to meet with the chief adviser.
The JCD activists came to the campus around 8:30pm in a procession and demonstrated demanding Helal be released. They broke the windows of the Registrar's Office before leaving around 9:45pm.
Joint secretary of JCD's university unit Akramul Hasan told bdnews24.com that the order for Helal's release was given on Aug 4 and the prison authorities received the documents on Aug 5. But he had yet to be released.
He said having waited until Wednesday evening in front of the prisons the activists came to the campus to demonstrate. They were pressing on with the legal battle as Helal had not been released even after the courts ordered his release. They will file a lawsuit against the authorities, he added.
Hasan said they would surround the home ministry at 11am on Thursday to demand the release of Helal.
Subject: Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal president Azizul Bari Helal freed............... 
Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:14 am
