20 injured as BCL rivals clash at JnU

Jagannath University (JnU) virtually turned into a battlefield yesterday when two rival groups of pro-Awami League Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) locked in fierce clashes, leaving around 20 people, including five students, injured.
Five were admitted to Mitford Medical College Hospital and nearby Sumona Medical with critical injuries.
Equipped with firearms, homemade bombs, machetes and axes, supporters of JnU unit BCL President Shariful Islam clashed with supporters of General Secretary Sirajul Islam around 11:00am reportedly over establishing supremacy.
The clashes started through explosions of the bombs while several gunshots were heard for over one hour, causing severe panic among the students and locals.
On information, police rushed to the spot and fired nine rounds of tear gas shells and two gunshots to bring the situation under control.
Officer-in-Charge Abu Bakkar Siddique of Kotowali Police Station said none was arrested and no case was filed in this connection.
JnU Proctor Dr Ashok Kumar Saha said, “Additional law enforcers have been deployed to avoid further clashes.”
BCL Central Committee issued show causes notices to the president and general secretary asking to reply in three days why they should not be suspended from BCL.
Both Shariful and Sirajul, in a joint statement, claimed that the clash was not among their groups but rather it was an untoward incident resulting from a misunderstanding between two groups. The duo claimed that they had jointly brought the situation under control.