Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) early yesterday arrested two top central leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) on charge of disrupting academic atmosphere of Dhaka University (DU).
Rab-2 personnel and the elite force intelligence wing jointly arrested BCL Organising Secretary Ashraful Rahman and its International Affairs Secretary Sohel Rana Mithu at a house in the city's Moghbazar around 2:30am, said Director of Legal and Media Wing of Rab Commander SMAK Azad.
Ashraful and Mithu were arrested on allegation of disrupting academic atmosphere on DU campus and making chaos in BCL, said Rab officials.
Adherents of Ashraful and Mithu had been demonstrating on the campus against Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina's decision of stepping down from the organisational chief position. They demanded reconsideration of her abdication.
They also demanded resignation of BCL President Mahmud Hasan Ripon and its General Secretary Mahfuzul Haider Chowdhury Roton.
As the news of the arrests reached DU campus, adherents of Ashraful and Mithu brought out a procession around 3:30am by forcefully awaking resident students of several dormitories. They demanded immediate release of the arrestees.
Campus sources said the procession headed towards Vice-Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique's office but drew back beholding huge deployment of police in front of the office.
Talking to The Daily Star some of the protesters alleged that top BCL leaders of DU had Ashraf and Mithu arrested as part of a conspiracy.
Additional Director General of Rab Col Rezanur Rahman Khan told The Daily Star that Ashraful and Mithu were arrested based on specific information of an attempt to create disruption on the campus.
He also said law enforcment agencies are keeping an eye on campus situation and would take action if someone tried to create violence there.
Rab officials handed the arrestees over to Ramna police around 7:15pm, Officer-in-Charge of Ramna Police Station Shibli Noman told The Daily Star.