Cocktails blasted at DU campus
The tense insecurity prevailing throughout the country, with both sudden eruptions of violence and regular protests and hartals, has not spared the educational institutions either.
Last Monday and Tuesday, the Dhaka University (DU) campus saw at least 13 and 20 cocktail explosions respectively, in which one rickshawpuller was injured. The Bangladesh Chhatra League have held the Bangladesh Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir responsible for attempting to create instability on campus, even filing a police case to this effect, while the latter two groups claim to have been framed by the former. Meanwhile, as always, general students in pursuit of an education are the ones suffering from fear and anxiety and remaining at bodily risk on the premises of the most prestigious educational institution in the country.
The DU campus in particular has been relatively free of large-scale violence and prolonged instability over the past few years, except for some sporadic if somewhat violent incidents. This, coupled with the authorities' conscious measures to regularly hold classes and especially exams even during countrywide hartals, has contributed to the cutting down of session jams significantly. This is a trend that must be maintained, but for this to happen, any trouble on campus must be nipped in the bud and dealt with a firm hand, regardless of who may be responsible for it.
We urge the authorities to deal with the issue promptly and with a firm and fair hand to deter further such incidents in the future. At the same time, we would ask the political parties to rein in their student bodies and ensure that educational institutions across the country are free from the scourge of unhealthy and violent student politics. Nothing good can ever come of disrupting education and putting the safety and lives of students at risk -- not for the parties and certainly not for the nation.
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