Teacher, another killed, over 100 injured during cop action
Two persons, including a college teacher, were killed and over 100 others injured, 10 of them seriously, as police swooped on an agitation programme of teachers, students and locals in Fulbaria upazila of the district yesterday.
The two deceased were Abul Kalam Azad, assistant professor of botany department of Fulbaria Degree College, and Safor Ali, 65, a resident of Kushmile Koroitola village in Phulbaria.
The teachers, students and employees of Phulbaria Degree College brought out a protest procession on the college campus around 1:00pm yesterday. Earlier, they announced a programme to block Mymensingh-Fulbaria road as part of the day's programme.
They have continued agitation including human chain, road blockade and hartal, also joined by local people, demanding nationalisation of the college for last 44 days, college teachers said.
“When we were holding a protest procession, a large police team led by Rifat Khan Razib, officer-in-charge (OC) of Fulbaria Police Station, entered the college campus and started beating up the rally participants without any provocation, injuring over 100 people including some 25 teachers,” said college teacher SM Abul Hashem, also convener of Fulbaria Degree College Nationalisation Committee.
Later police engaged in a series of chases and counter chases with the protesters outside the college and charged baton in which Safor Ali sustained serious injuries and died on the spot, he said.
Police also fired some 100 rounds of blank shots during the action, alleged Abul Hashem.
Safor was brought dead at the hospital, informed Dr Ahsan Habib, emergency medical officer of Fulbaria Upazila Health Complex.
Critically injured Abul Kalam Azad was rushed to Community Based Medical College Hospital in Mymensingh where he succumbed to his injuries around 4:00pm, said Azad's colleague Arup Kumar Basak.
"Police beat up the top leaders of movement indiscriminately and Azad was one of them. Some other injured teachers were admitted to different hospitals and clinics," he added.
Abdur Razzak, senior vice president of upazila Awami League (AL), said police attacked the demonstrators without any provocation. He demanded examplary punishment to the perpetrators.
Contacted, OC Rifat Khan Razib said police did not go into any action today [Sunday] and the deaths have no relation with the agitation.
Syed Nurul Islam, Mymensingh superintendent of police, echoed the same.
Since start of the agitation, the teachers and students of Fulbaria Degree College have been holding local AL lawmaker Muslem Uddin responsible for nationalisation of Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Mohila College, a non-MPO college, established in 2009 in the upazila, instead of Fulbaria Degree College, established in 1972 and having much better infrastructure and academic achievement that the former.
The lawmaker's son Emdadul Haque Selim is the governing body president of Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Mohila College.
Earlier on Thursday afternoon, a scheduled programme for inauguration of Bhalukjaan Bridge on the Akhalia river in Fulbaria by lawmaker Muslem Uddin was postponed due to an untoward incident between 'agitated people' and AL men.
Emdadul Haque Selim, also Phulbaria upazila AL's information and research secretary, said when the teachers along with students and employees of Fulbaria Degree College were trying to come out for their protest programme, police intercepted them at the college gate.
At one stage they allegedly attacked police with brickbats and police went into action, he said.
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