BCL activists again swoop on protesters

Chhatra League activists of Jagannath University allegedly swooped on agitating students again yesterday during demonstrations for residential halls.

Witnesses said a group of BCL men, led by university unit President FM Shariful Islam, attacked the agitators on the campus when they were about to bring out a procession, leaving around 25 students injured.

Later, a group of students announced they will hold a mass students' rally at the Central Shaheed Minar at 10:00am today to press home their demand and in protest at the BCL attack. 

Speaking at a press conference in front of Central Public Library in the city's Shahbagh, JnU student Kazi Humayun said demonstrators came under a series of attacks from some BCL men when they were preparing to bring out a procession like the previous days.

The protesters enforced a strike on the campus yesterday demanding the authorities set up residential halls.

“The attackers snatched our loudspeakers, banners, cell phones and vandalised the office of the journalist association at the university,” he alleged.

The injured students received treatment at nearby private clinics and hospitals.

On Sunday, some BCL men allegedly attacked the agitating students during a sit-in for residential halls, leaving several injured.

Accusing the BCL, pro-Awami League student body, of conspiring to foil the movement, Golam Rabbi, a final-year student of accounting, yesterday said Chhatra League men beat up students with plastic chairs and sticks for not holding agitations under their leadership.

“If they [BCL men] want to hold a rally, they can do it separately. But they have no right to foil our peaceful movement,” he added.

Refuting the allegations of beating up students, BCL JnU President Shariful said they were staging demonstrations demanding halls.

“We will enforce a strike on the campus tomorrow [today] to press home our demand…. We want to stage demonstrations under a united platform, but the left-leaning student organisations want to lead the movement,” he said.

Talking to The Daily Star, JnU Proctor Noor Muhammad said most of the classes and examinations were not held yesterday due to the students' strike at the university.

About the attack on students, he said it was difficult for them to monitor demonstration programmes. The university authorities would take actions if anyone files a written complaint with the JnU, he added.

On the vandalism at the journalist association's office, he said the incident occurred due to “an internal problem” of the association. “We have padlocked the office today [yesterday] as the association is financed by the university.”

The students of JnU, an institution of 21,000 students, have been boycotting classes and exams and blocking different city roads since August 1 demanding residential halls.                                           

Many students have been living at rented houses and messes as the authorities failed to manage accommodations for them.