A. S. M. Abdur Rab, Shajahan Siraj and almost all the bigwigs of the party landed in jail. The Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini started a drive to hunt down all the supporters of Jasad after that. Police and Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini personnel raided the office of Ganakantha and arrested the editor, Al Mahmud. Key personnel The committee was formed with 33 members of civil society. They were from different background that included teachers, engineers, lawyers, doctors, writers, poets and journalists. The first meeting of the committee was held at the National Press Club in Dhaka on 31 March 1974 and was presided over by Professor Ahmed Sharif. The prominent figures of the committee are: Sikandar Abu Zafar as President Mirza Ghulam Hafiz in charge of Legal analysis Professor Ahmed Sharif in charge of Publication Vinod Das Gupta in charge of Investigation Abdul Huq in charge of Legal aid A.Z.M. Enayetullah Khan as Treasurer Moudud Ahmed as general secretary Syed Zafar as Assistant general secretary Jasimuddin Badruddin Umar Muhammad Habibur Rahman Ahmed Sofa Mohiuddin Alamgir Kamrunnahar Laili Demands In their first meeting, the committee made the following demands:> Withdrawal of laws not consistent with the constitution and termination of attack on fundamental rights by the various government forces and administrative machineries Immediate repeal of undemocratic Special Powers Act Repeal of the Rakkhi Bahini Act and withdrawal of the troops who were all engaged in brutal activities Release of all political prisoners detained in different jails of the country Restoration of freedom of press and release of all newspaper workers including Al Mahmud, editor of the daily Ganakantha and withdrawal of warrants against those wanted by the government for political reasons Activities The committee was vocal against the repression of the government and the offences of the government forces. Several meetings and dialogues were held under the banner of the committee. One of the most discussed event of the committee was a large public meeting which was held in front of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in Dhaka to express solidarity with the suffering people. The committee held the Awami League responsible for the Bangladesh famine of 1974. Veteran journalist and a member of the committee, A.Z.M. Enayetullah Khan, was highly critical to the government excesses in handling of the opposition parties and dissenting groups and wrote a series of editorials against the government. He was subsequently arrested for his articles. General Secretary of