Attack on college teacher sparks protest

Teachers and students of Government Mominunnesa Mohila College in Mymensingh form a human chain in front of the college yesterday demanding immediate arrest of the culprits who assaulted Farid Uddin, an associate professor of the college, at Kaltapara in Gouripur upazila on Sunday. PHOTO: STAR

The students and teachers of Government Mominennessa Mohila College in the town formed a human chain in front of the college yesterday, demanding immediate arrest of the culprits who assaulted a teacher of the college in Kaltapara area in Gouripur upazila on Sunday.
The attack on the teacher also sparked protest in Gouripur upazila yesterday. Several hundred people formed a human chain and took out a procession and then held a rally at the upazila headquarters, demanding immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of the attackers.
  The protesters called a half-day hartal in the upazila for today and gave a 24-hour ultimatum to the district administration to arrest the attackers.
They also threatened to go for a tougher agitation programme if their demand was not met within deadline.
A group of 15 to 20 ruling party men intercepted Farid Uddin, associate professor of the college, while he was returning home in Gouripur from the district town in his motorcycle around 3:30pm on Sunday.
The AL men provoked the teacher and engaged in an altercation allegedly over his stance taken against local lawmaker Capt (retd) Dr Mujibur Rahman Fakir during the January 5 parliamentary elections.
At one stage, the ruling party men stripped Prof Farid Uddin, took him to the office of the lawmaker nearby and physically assaulted him.
Being informed by locals, police went to the spot and rescued the teacher.
Prof Farid Uddin filed a case with Gouripur Police Station in the evening, accusing 30 to 40 people, including Faruq Ahmed Fakir, nephew of local lawmaker Mujibur Rahman Fakir, and Awami League leaders Shahidul Islam and Akram.
Contacted, the teacher alleged that the accused threatened him over phone for filing of the case. None of them was arrested as of 7:00pm yesterday.
Officer in-Charge of Gouripur Police Station said all the accused had gone into hiding soon after filing of the case.
Additional police have been deployed in the upazila headquarters to avert any untoward incidents, the OC added.