On April 5, 2024, over a dozen assailants stabbed and killed Naif Ahmed Tushar, the vice president of a local unit of Jasod Chhatra League, a pro-Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) student body. According to police, the attack appeared to be politically motivated.

During the evening of April 5, between one and three dozen individuals attacked Tushar as he was drinking tea in a stall at the Golapnagar bazar in Kushtia. JSD accused the attackers of coming from the house of a local Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader.

Tushar was taken to the hospital where he died from his injuries.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about a politically motivated and violent attack on a student leader. Political figures must refrain from violence against students and respect the right to freedom of association and freedom of expression. In addition to harm to the immediate victims, violent attacks on students undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://www.newagebd.net/article/229648/jasod-chhatra-league-leader-stabbed-to-death
https://unb.com.bd/category/Bangladesh/jsd-chhatra-league-leader-stabbed-dead-in-kushtia/133658
https://viewsbangladesh.com/en/jsd-chattar-league-leader-stabbed-to-death-in-kushtia/
https://images.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/jasod-chhatra-league-leader-stabbed-death-3583726