[5] The first director of the Ansar was James Buchanan, a British official appointed by the government of then-Chief Minister of East Bengal Khawaja Nazimuddin.

The emphasis was on recruiting in border areas, where Ansars were deployed to interdict smuggling and prevent emigrants from taking valuables out of the country illegally.

[10] The service of battalion Ansars was under National Pay Scale in October 2008, and they were entitled to family rations and combat uniform.

[17] Following the fall of Hasina government, a faction of Ansar members began protesting, demanding the nationalisation of their jobs and the abolition of the six-month "Rest System," among other benefits.

[19] On 25th August, the Home Affairs Advisor, Retired Lt. Gen. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, met with the protesting Ansar members.

He announced a preliminary decision to abolish the controversial six-month "Rest System" and assured that the demand for nationalisation would be reviewed based on an upcoming committee report.

[20][21] Tensions escalated when Ansar members reportedly trapped two coordinators of the Anti-discrimination Students Movement, Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjis Alam, along with other officials, including Information and Communications Technology adviser Nahid Islam, inside the Secretariat.

[22] Earlier that day, Hasnat Abdullah had accused the Ansar members of holding them captive and called for support on social media.

[24] Around 9 PM, a group of students marched from Dhaka University TSC to the Secretariat to rescue them but were met with a barrage of bricks and stones from the Ansar members, resulting in numerous injuries on both sides, including Hasnat Abdullah.