BCL men expelled, yet living in hall

The seven Bangladesh Chhatra League activists of Dhaka University, who were expelled from Salimullah Muslim Hall for assaulting a fellow resident student, are still staying in the dormitory defying the hall authorities' order.

According to hall students and roommates, the BCL men had left the dorm after the incident but returned within a few days and started staying in their previous rooms. This correspondent also visited the rooms on Monday and found it true.

The BCL men assaulted Ehsan Rafiq on February 6, in which the victim nearly lost the sight in his right eye. Following the incident, Salimullah hall authorities expelled all seven, while the DU administration expelled one and suspended the rest for different terms.

Ehsan, a second-year student of disaster management and science, was beaten up when he asked one Omar Faruk to return the calculator that the latter had borrowed from him three months back.

Key assaulter Omar was the assistant secretary of Salimullah hall unit BCL.

On February 27, the university expelled him. Of the remaining six, hall unit assistant secretaries Ruhul Amin Bappery, Fardin Ahmed Mugdho, members Samiul Islam Sami, Ahsan Ullah, and deputy training affairs secretary Mehedi Hasan Himel were suspended for two years, and vice-president Ariful Islam for one year. A day after the attack, BCL also suspended Omar, Mehedi and Ruhul but did not specify the terms.

Omar, Mehedi and Samiul are staying in room no. 12, and Ruhul, Ahsan, Ariful and Fardin in room nos. 182, 178, 149 and 1 respectively.

Regarding the matter, Salimullah hall provost Prof Mahbubul Alam Joyardar said he is not aware of their stay. “We will take steps against them if we find it true,” he said.

Meanwhile, the victim is still bearing the brunt of the cruelty and passing days at his village home in Jhenidah with uncertainty over his academic life.

His family took him to India twice for better treatment. “Ehsan underwent two surgeries but his right eye retina still suffers from 20 percent damage and it would not cure fully,” Ehsan's father Rafiqul Islam told The Daily Star quoting doctors.

Ehsan already lost one academic year because of his illness and is eager to resume his studies early next year.