Teacher cleared of sexual abuse charge assaulted

Students of Jahangirnagar University (JU) yesterday assaulted drama and dramatics (D&D) department head Sanowar Hossain Sunny, who had been cleared of sexual harassment charges by the syndicate .
Five students were injured as armed cadres of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) and Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) swooped on the agitating students allegedly at the dictate of a section of the university teachers.
An emergency meeting of the university syndicate was convened on the campus following the incident. The meeting was on till filing of the report at 9:00 last night.
Sunny submitted a written statement to acting vice-chancellor Prof Moniruzzaman demanding a fair probe into the attack. In the statement he accuses 22 students mentioning names of seven of the attack, sources said.
Students agitating for dismissal of Sunny, against who 17 female students of his department brought charges of sexual harassment, became furious soon after Sunny arrived on the campus and went to his office around noon.
The students chased Sunny, who took shelter in the teachers' lounge at the old Arts Faculty building. The students held him at the lounge and beat up him until some colleagues of Sunny came to his rescue.
As students continued agitating, some teachers allegedly sought help from JCD and BCL cadres, who rushed to the scene and swooped on the agitating students. The cadres also went on a rampage at the department and vandalised windowpanes and teachers rooms.
At one stage the agitating students took shelter in a classroom locking from inside to escape from the mayhem caused by the cadres.
Witnesses said Prof Mozzammel Haque Chowdhury and ex-proctor Kamrul Ahsan Tito rescued sunny and took him away from the spot guarded by BCL cadres at 1:20pm.
JCD cadres on the other hand staged an armed showdown on the campus searching for the agitating students and activists of the left-leaning political parties' student wings.
During the showdown the JCD cadres beat up former president of Bangladesh Chhatra Union Kollol Bonik, Samajtantrik Chhatra Front general secretary Jubayer Hossain Prince, activist Ariful Islam and student of drama Shahadat Sarker.
Another student of the department, Rusho was also beat up in his dormitory Shaheed Salam Barkat Hall.
The injured were given first aid.
Contacted, Proctor Mafruhi Sattar Titu told journalists, "Legal steps will be taken against those involved in teacher's harassment and attacks on the students. The assaulted teacher has already applied for a probe into the incident."
The JCD and BCL cadres brought out a procession on the campus last evening under the banner of general students and demanded punishment of the students who assaulted Sunny.
Jahangirnagar University Teachers' Association called an emergency meeting today to take a decision over the incident.
Classes and examinations of drama and dramatics department remained suspended since the students began agitation in May. Four female students of the department submitted a written statement accusing Sunny of harassing them sexually on May 3.
Sunny was cleared of the charges on September 13 when agitating students were observing a fast unto death programme to press home their two-point demand.
The demands are dismissal of Sunny and implementation of a policy against sexual harassment on the campus. The students observed fast unto death programmes several times but called off the agitation as the university authorities had assured them of looking into the matter.
The university authorities, however, took a decision in favour of Sunny, sparking huge protests from intellectuals, political and social organisations and students, who rejected the decision straightaway.
Sources say the role of the university authorities has been controversial since the very beginning with formation of a fact-finding committee. The students kept eight syndicate members including the acting VC confined to the university administrative building for 16 hours on July 30 to press home their demands.
As a testimony to the controversial role the university authorities in an unusual move formed separate probe bodies like a 'fact-finding committee' and a 'stronger fact-finding committee'. None of the committees found "enough" evidence to charge Sunny with the allegations.
In the wake of further agitation the authorities were forced to form a high-powered probe-body headed by the VC and the committee finally declared Sunny "innocent" saying enough evidence was not available.
Meanwhile, the JU syndicate at an emergency meeting yesterday suspended six students of the dramatics department following a complainant by Sunny.
The six are Nazmul Islam Anik, Anjali Islam Shimu, Inunnahar Putul, Fahim Sharmin Dipti, Shahdatullah Rumon and Chinmoy Gupta.