June 17, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 16, 1424

DHAKA, June 16: A student leader of Bangladesh’s main opposition party was gunned down on Monday, sparking a parliamentary walkout and a call for a general strike here for June 19.

Police said unidentified assailants shot dead S. Rahman Palash, leader of the Bangladesh Chatra League (BCL) belonging to the Awami League, in Dhaka’s Kallyanpur area.

Another man standing nearby was also killed, police said.

Angry BCL activists took to the streets and damaged several passing vehicles, witnesses said, adding that police used batons to control the protesters.

The Awami League of Sheikh Hasina Wajed staged a brief walkout of the parliament on Monday.

A BCL spokesman said a strike has been called for Thursday to protest the killing, which is being investigated by police.—AFP