JU BCL general secretary 'assaulted' by ex-leader
The general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League at Jahangirnagar University, SM Abu Sufian Chanchal, was allegedly assaulted by a former leader on Friday night.
The incident took place in front of Shaheed Salam-Barkat Hall around 10:30pm. Tension was created centring on the “assault” but the situation calmed down after Chanchal left the spot.
According to witnesses, JU BCL's former general secretary Razib Ahmed Rasel came to the campus on Friday and met Chanchal to discuss their “differences”, which arouse recently. At one point, Razib got angry and slapped him and hurled abuses.
BCL insiders said Chanchal used to be a loyalist of Razib when the latter was BCL's general secretary at JU in the last committee. Razib also helped Chanchal be his successor. Recently the two were having differing opinions on some issues.
Seeking anonymity, a vice-president of JU unit of BCL, said, “For a long time, an internal conflict had been going on between them over establishing supremacy on the campus. Although Chanchal was once loyal to Razib, now he started to be on his own.”
The crisis deepened over giving a reception to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Dhaka-Aricha Highway on Thursday where the loyalists of the two held the programme separately.
When asked, Razib, also a former vice president of BCL's central committee, said, “Chanchal was loyal to me but he tried to create a faction of his own. Some senior leaders of the university called me to settle the matter. I got angry while talking to him, but there was no assault.”
Chanchal also denied any incident of assault, saying that they had an altercation, and Razib got furious. Asked about the cause of his anger, Chanchal said, “He was a former leader but he wanted to interfere in our committee. He was angry because I refused to follow his instructions.”
Assistant Proctor Mohibur Rouf Shaibal, who came to the scene shortly, said, “There was no incident of assault. They only had an altercation, and it was resolved later.”