Ruet BCL men oust Shibir

Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) drove away Shibir activists from the residential halls of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (Ruet) and ransacked their rooms in the early hours Thursday, injuring 13 Shibir men.
Sources said a group of BCL activists first raided Shaheed Salim hall at about 12:30am and occupied the rooms of Shibir men.
During the raid, they allegedly beat up Shibir Ruet unit president Tabiur Rahman and general secretary Zahidul Islam with iron rods and bamboo and hockey sticks.
The BCL activists then forced Shibir men out of their rooms at Shahidullah and Shaheed Ziaur Rahman halls and clashed with Shibir activists in front of Ziaur Rahman hall.
As the news of violence spread, BCL and Shibir regrouped themselves and locked in a two hour-long clash, which continued till 3:00am. Both the groups used wood sticks, brickbats, and iron rods during the clash.
A huge number of police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) later rushed to the campus and brought the situation under control. They also raided Shaheed Salim and Ziaur Rahman halls but no one was arrested.
All the injured persons were taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) for treatment. Two BCL activists were also injured in the clash.
Following the campus violence, the Ruet Syndicate at an emergency meeting on Thursday postponed all classes and scheduled examinations of the university for an indefinite period.
Campus sources said BCL staged a big showdown and went to different dormitories in search of Shibir activists Thursday morning. Shibir also staged a demonstration with outsiders, rejecting the decision of Ruet Syndicate.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Motiher zone) Jahangir Hossain said additional police were deployed on the Ruet campus to avoid further trouble.
RMC RAIDED
Hostel supers, college teachers and police jointly raided Shaheed Shah Mainul Ahsan Pinku and Shaheed Kazi Nurunnabi hostels of Rajshahi Medical College in the early hours Thursday but no outsider was found.
BCL leaders alleged that police did not go to Shibir cadres rooms during the raid.
On December 3 last year, the RMC was closed for an indefinite period following a clash between BCL and Shibir activists over capturing a hostel seat. The college reopened on January 5.