18 students tortured in five months

In the last five months, at least 18 students of Dhaka University (DU) have been either assaulted or mentally tortured at six dormitories in 10 incidents related to "guest room culture", mostly by "BCL" men.

The authorities have not taken any action in 15 cases as of yet, according to Students against Torture (SAT), a newly-formed rights-based students' organisation. Three campus correspondents were also assaulted; the authorities kept mum in those cases too.

Saleh Uddin Sifat, SAT founder, revealed this at a press briefing yesterday at DU. BCL men abuse students to teach "manners", for not attending political programmes, posting Facebook posts on guest (gono) room, and breaching "rules", among other reasons, he said.

The information was recorded from October 5, 2021 to February 28, 2022. Sifat, also office secretary of Chhatra Adhikar Parishad's DU unit, said the administration took "so-called" actions in three cases.

Saddam Hussain, general secretary of BCL's DU unit, refuted the allegations. "Sometimes unexpected incidents happen in the dormitories. Some non-popular organisations are bringing allegations against us for seeking attention," he said.

This correspondent could not get in touch with the DU proctor. Asked, assistant proctor Abdur Rahim said, "We take action against those involved in such incidents."