Several hundred Jahangirnagar University students joined the movement of teachers who laid siege to the the vice-chancellor’s house for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday demanding his resignation.
They rallied on the campus in protest at Saturday’s attack on the campus-based cultural activists and teachers by Chhatra League activists and burnt the vice-chancellor Shariff Enamul Kabir in effigy.
The striking teachers, mostly belonging to opposition and left-leaning political parties, on Sunday vowed to continue with their sit-in until the vice-chancellor resigned.
They were demanding the resignation of the vice-chancellor for his alleged corruption, recruitment of teachers on political grounds and patronisation of Chhatra League activists.
The vice-chancellor, however, on Sunday told reporters that he would not step down. ‘There is no reason for me to resign.’
BCL activists backed by the vice-chancellor also brought out a procession on the campus. Sources said the BCL leaders forced general students to join the procession.
Mehedi Hasan, a resident of Shaheed Salam Barkat Hall, said that Chhatra League activists had called general students to the common room of the hall and
forced the students to join the procession.
Activists of the Awami League-backed Chhatra League on Saturday night attacked the striking teachers and cultural activists. The teachers and students demanded exemplary punishment of the people who attacked them.
Sangskritik Jote activists said that the police refused to record any case against Chhatra League activists who attacked on the cultural activists on Saturday in which at least 15 were injured.
The Ashulia police officer-in-charge, Badrul Alam, said that some students had gone to the police station to file a case but the police did not record the case as the documents lacked some bits of information. The police recorded a general diary instead.
The university authorities set up a three-member committee, headed by Pritilata Hall provost Lutfar Rahman, to investigate the attack, the registrar, Abu Bakar Siddique, said.
The other two on the committee Ahmed Reza and deputy registrar Mohammad Ali. The committee has been asked to submit the report in seven working days.
Cultural activists alleged that they had not stayed in the halls since Saturday night. ‘We have been forced to stay out of the halls in fear of attacks by Chhatra League activists as we are protesting at their activities that have led to the current campus situation,’ cultural activists Rahul Anzum said.
Chhatra League activists, however, brushed aside the allegations and said that they had not asked anyone to leave the halls.
The acting proctor Sukalyan Kumar Kundu assured the cultural activists of security in halls after discussing the matter with the provosts and Chhatra League activists.
Police deployment on the campus has been reinforced to head off any trouble, the Ashulia police said.
Source: New Age