USTC expels culprit student, suspends 3

The University of Science and Technology of Chittagong (USTC)) yesterday expelled one of its students and suspended three others for one year, over the incident of pouring kerosene on a professor and attempting to light him on fire.

USTC Proctor Kazi Nur-e-Alam disclosed the decision at a press conference held at Chattogram Press Club yesterday morning.

Mahmudul Hasan, who put kerosene on USTC English Department adviser Prof Masud Mahmood, was expelled from the university permanently while Md Sheikh Rasel Shahen Shah, Md Moinul Alam and Mohammad Ali Hossain were suspended for one year each, for their involvement in the incident.

Mahmudul is a master’s student of university’s English department while Sheikh Rasel, Moinul and Ali Hossain are undergraduate students.

The proctor said the decision was taken by a disciplinary committee, as per recommendation of a probe committee which was formed after the incident -- headed by Prof Jasim Uddin of Medical Science of USTC.

Meanwhile, Prof Masud Mahmood expressed dissatisfaction at the action taken against only four students, as he said more students were involved in the incident.

Talking to The Daily Star, Prof Masud said, “When university administration and police came to record my statement, I clearly mentioned 21 unruly students’ names who have been physically and mentally humiliating me for the last three months, raising false and baseless allegations.”

But it is very unfortunate that the authorities only took action against four of them, he added.

Mahmood also demanded punishment of the female students who raised false sexual harassment allegations against him.

A group of students of USTC’s English department tried to set Prof Masud on fire pouring kerosene on his body after assaulting him physically on July 2. A case was filed the same day with Khulshi Police Station, in which Mahmudul was arrested the same day. He was placed on a two-day remand by a Chattogram court on July 3, and another one-day remand on Wednesday.

Campus sources said on April 16, a group of students of the English department raised allegations against the professor of delivering obscene lectures and launched demonstrations demanding his termination.

In May, university authorities formed a probe committee to look into it, which did not find the allegations to be true, they said.

ANOTHER STUDENT ARRESTED

Meanwhile, police arrested another USTC student yesterday afternoon, in connection with the case. The arrestee is Moinul Alam Anik, 22, a master’s second semester student of English department, said police.

He was arrested from Khulshi area, said Officer-in-Charge (OC) Pranab Chowdhury of Khulshi Police Station, adding that they found Anik’s involvement in the investigation of the case.