Part-time student, full-time ‘harasser’

An activist of BCL's Dhaka University unit has been accused of harassing and physically assaulting a woman in the university's TSC area early yesterday.

The accused is Najmul alias Jim, a senior-year student of the university's social welfare department. He is a follower of Mariam Sohan, BCL's Surja Sen Hall unit president.

BCL's DU unit President Sonjit Chandra Das confirmed to this newspaper that Najmul is a BCL activist.

The victim is a student at a private university in the capital.

Witnesses said the victim arrived at the Raju Memorial sculpture area around 2:45am with friends. 

Suddenly, Najmul came and started interrogating them about why they were there at that hour. At one point, Najmul snatched her phone and slapped her multiple times.

At least four witnesses confirmed the incident.

"I was taking some photos with my friends in front of the sculpture when two boys got off their bikes and began interrogating us in an abusive tone. One of them started harassing me and at one point slapped me," said the victim.

Contacted, Najmul said, "What was she doing there at that hour of the night? Besides, she slapped me first, so I slapped her back."

When two members of the proctorial team arrived on the spot after the incident, Abul Bashar, a shopkeeper at Hakim Chattar, accused Najmul of snatching his money and phone earlier.

"Najmul attacked me around 10:00pm at Suhrawardy Udyan. He seized my phone, wallet, and headphones."

The proctorial team tried to capture Najmul but he fled the scene.

Contacted, DU Proctor Prof AKM Golam Rabbani said, "Since the student belongs to another institution, she has been asked to seek police's help. The university will provide all necessary assistance in this regard."

The allegations against Najmul, however, do not end here.

On the night of December 15, Najmul and his cohorts allegedly beat up two other students on the campus, tagging them as "outsiders".

Seeking anonymity, a female student of DU said, "I was on the campus on the night of December 15 when this group of BCL activists were beating these two students. When I intervened, they started beating me and my friends as well."