Former banned BCL leader Roton dies

Mahfuzul Haider Chowdhury Roton, a former general secretary of the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), has died of lung cancer at a hospital in Kolkata, India. 

He was  undergoing treatment for the disease for a prolonged period.

Roton breathed his last at 7AM on Saturday (October 10), according to a condolence message posted on Facebook by Enamul Haque Shamim, a former organising secretary of the Awami League.

In his tribute, Shamim described Roton as a close friend, political comrade and trusted companion, expressing deep grief over his death.

“Mahfuzul Haider Chowdhury Roton, former general secretary of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, our beloved brother, comrade and companion through joy and sorrow, is no longer with us,” Shamim wrote, offering prayers for the deceased.

He said the loss of a younger brother-like figure and fellow activist was difficult to put into words, adding that it was painful to think Roton had passed away so suddenly.

Roton served as the central general secretary of the Bangladesh Chhatra League from 2006 to 2011. Mahmuda Hasan Ripon was president of the organisation during the same tenure.

After his stint with the BCL, Roton remained active in Awami League politics. Originally from Raozan in Chattogram, he collected the party’s nomination form for the Chattogram-6 constituency ahead of the 2018 national parliamentary election.

In 2021, he was also appointed a member of the Awami League’s subcommittee on labour and manpower affairs.