Students continue class boycott

The students of Mymensingh Medical College (MMC) boycotted their classes and examinations for the third consecutive day yesterday, demanding that the authorities concerned take adequate measures to ensure their security.

The students started to demonstrate on Saturday following the recovery of a body from the septic tank of a male dormitory.   

On Saturday and Sunday, the students also boycotted their classes and examinations, and staged demonstrations on the college campus, but no demonstration took place yesterday. 

Their six-point demand include setting up a permanent police camp, installing CCTV camera coverage both at the dormitory and the college campus, and banning outsiders' entry into the dorm in Baghmara area -- around one kilometre off the campus.

The college authorities discussed the students' demands at an academic council meeting on Sunday, said Prof Anwar Hossain, principal of the college. "We have started to fulfill their demands, and a police team has already been deployed at the dormitory; none is allowed to enter into the dorm without identification cards," said the principal. But students said the police camp is not permanent.

 “We will not return to classes until all the demands are not fulfilled," said Abdus Sattar Russel, a fifth year student.

On Thursday, the body of one Jahangir Hossain, 15, was found in the septic tank a week after he had gone missing from nearby Kristopur area.

Police arrested one Ripon Mia, 30, the prime suspect, after Jahangir's family filed an abduction case against four people on September 10, said police.