Gen secy Tuhin beats official in VC's office
Gen secy Tuhin beats official in VC's office
Victim says he was attacked for not paying extortion money; Tuhin claims the official made disparaging remarks about Bangabandhu, which the former categorically denies
Touhid-Al-Hossain Tuhin, general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League at Rajshahi University, yesterday led a group of followers inside the vice chancellor's office and beat up the university's acting chief engineer there, as he "refused to pay extortion money".
The victim, Sirajum Munir, was treated in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital for injuries to the head and face. He was punched indiscriminately by 10-15 leaders and activists of Chhatra League led by Tuhin and the unit vice president Tanmoyanda Avi.
The group also assaulted two employees.
Tuhin said he beat up the engineer as the latter made derogatory remarks about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a claim summarily dismissed by the victim. Munir said he was attacked because he did not pay them extortion money.
Seeking anonymity, an engineer of the administrative building told The Daily Star that BCL general secretary Tuhin had demanded Tk 1 lakh from the acting chief engineer.
Before the attack, he called up Munir and asked him to meet him with the money at Tukitaki Chattar on the campus, he added. As Munir refused, Tuhin started looking for him and finally found him in the waiting room at VC's office and beat him there, he said.
An official, who was at the scene, said a BCL man hit Munir in the head with a pistol.
The chief engineer deals with the bidding process for all on-campus constructions.
On information, Alamgir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Motihar Police Station, rushed to the administrative building-1 with a team of 7-8 and locked the main gate to shut the attackers in, said the OC.
Sensing the presence of police, the BCL men escaped breaking open the main gate and beating up security guard Abul Kashem.
The attackers first went to the chief engineer's office in administrative building-2. As he was not there, they went to administrative building-2. When Sumon Ahmed, a peon at building-1, asked for the attackers' identities, they beat him up, said Sumon.
Vice Chancellor Muhammad Mizanuddin said the authorities would take stern action against Tuhin and other BCL men, and that he asked police to arrest them.
BCL's central committee president Badiuzzaman Sohag told The Daily Star that they would take organisational action against Tuhin and others.