Student Leader Applies for Permit to Operate 250 Buses Following Safe Roads, Anti-Discrimination Protests

Staff Reporter | May 4, 2025

Young people have been vocal on the streets demanding students’ rights—sometimes under the banner of “Safe Roads,” other times “Half Fare,” or the “Anti-Discrimination Student Movement”—but how did they suddenly become transport entrepreneurs overnight? Who or which forces are providing the massive financial backing behind these students?

After movements for safe roads, quota reform, anti-discrimination, and anti-government protests, how did student leaders suddenly become owners of vast wealth? It’s a mystery. One such student leader is now taking the initiative to launch hundreds of buses in Dhaka, causing a stir in the transport sector as well as political and administrative circles.

In Dhaka, a new transport company, Chitra Transport Limited, has recently applied for route permits for 240 buses. The company, which obtained its trade license on September 2, 2023, is led by several young individuals, many of whom are still students. One of them is Mahidul Islam Daud, known for his active role in the 2018 Safe Road movement and other student political movements. Currently, he serves as the office secretary of the central committee of the left-leaning student organization “Democratic Student Council.”

Daud’s company has applied to the Dhaka Metropolitan Regional Transport Committee for two routes—one from Kaliakair to Narayanganj and the other from Savar to Gazipur. Permission has been sought to operate 120 buses on each route, totaling 240 buses.

As the information surfaced, questions arose—who is assuring this massive investment? How will the financial backing be arranged?

Among Chitra Transport’s seven directors, three are under 25 years old, and two are still students. Yet, they have registered as owners-directors of a business worth hundreds of crores of taka.

Documents reveal that Mahidul Islam Daud has signed as the company’s vice chairman. However, Daud denied ownership, saying, “I am not the owner of any bus company.” When asked about his involvement, he mentioned that he got somewhat involved after “Selim Bhai” asked for his assistance.

However, the truth of this statement is questioned when reviewing the documents submitted by Chitra Transport to government offices. Daud’s name, signature, and designation are clearly mentioned in the company’s Memorandum of Association registered with the Joint Stock Companies and Firms Department. Even the route permit application was filed under his name.

Meanwhile, the name of a certain Selim Sardar has emerged as the main entrepreneur. He said that currently, nine buses operating under another company will be run under Chitra Transport’s name, while the rest will be newly purchased.

When asked about appointing students as company directors, he said, “They joined after being told they would do business and buy new vehicles.”

When asked about the financial sources or investments of the students, Selim Sardar declined to comment.

Whose money is funding this “business,” whose plan is it, and under whose political influence is it operating? The answers remain unclear. How ordinary students leading movements suddenly became extraordinary, entering the commercial transport sector with investments worth hundreds of crores, is an astonishing matter. Questions are arising—are hidden financial or political forces behind this transformation? Were the movements the source of their vast wealth?

Even in government offices, there are whispers that pressure is being exerted in favor of Chitra Transport using the names of certain advisors.

If a commercial bus company is born by capitalizing on ideological positions, questions will inevitably arise in the public mind—is this a new form of student politics, or a scam in the name of ideology?