Row Over Cricket Match: 30 JU students hurt in clashes with villagers

At least 30 students were injured in clashes between students of Jahangirnagar University and villagers in Savar's Gerua Bazar yesterday evening.

Hundreds of students, both male and female, who live in messes in Gerua Bazar due to closure of the university amid the pandemic, were trapped in their rooms as intermittent clashes continued till filing this report at 10:30pm.

Sources said the clash broke out in the evening over a cricket match dispute. The match between students and locals was held on February 11. A scuffle took place between a JU Chhatra League man and some locals during the match. Tensions were high in the area since then.

After Maghrib prayers yesterday, villagers armed with rods, sticks and other local weapons gathered in Gerua Bazar. They were called in through loudspeakers of a local mosque, said witnesses.

"It's a matter of our honour. Come out of your homes with whatever you have," a speaker was heard saying through loudspeakers.

Villagers attacked JU students and set fire to four motorcycles in Gerua Bazar. Around 7:30pm, a group of students gathered there and launched a counter-attack.

About 2,000 people from both sides were at the clash site around 10:30pm. Many were hurling brick-chips at each other. Police fired blank shots to keep the situation under control, witnesses said.

At least 30 injured students were given primary treatment at the JU medical centre. Two were later sent to Enam Medical College Hospital, said Mahfuzul Kabir, duty doctor at the medical centre.

Following the incident, some students fled their messes fearing fresh attacks.

ASM Firoz Ul Hasan, acting proctor of JU, said police and the university administration were trying to bring the situation under control.

Villagers, however, alleged that a group of Chhatra League men picked up a local youth from Gerua Bazar following an altercation over the cricket match. They held him hostage in a room of a house.

Outraged at this, villagers clashed with students, said Nazrul Islam, a resident of the area.

The BCL men later freed the youth, said locals.