Clear your stance or face tougher agitation: Buet students to VC

Protesting students of Buet today threatened to put all the administrative buildings under lock and key if the vice chancellor does not appear on the campus by 2:00pm tomorrow to clear his stance on the demands, which the students placed after the murder of their fellow Abrar Fahad.

Around 1,000 agitating students gathered on the Buet Shaheed Minar around 10:00am and said they will be compelled to halt all administrative activities of the university if their demands, which can be fulfilled by the university authorities, are not met by tomorrow.

They have also been demanding justice for Abrar, who was brutally murdered allegedly by Bangladesh Chhatra League activists four days back.

The students alleged that the Buet administration has not taken any decisive measure in meeting the demands intended towards Buet authorities, as of yet which included permanent expulsion of Abrar’s killers from Buet.

Around two to three spokespersons, on behalf of the students, were seen announcing their demands and programmes for today to journalists gathered on the campus for the fourth consecutive day.

They also said the admission test slated for October 14 will not take place if their demands are not met and asked the admission council to take measures in this regard.

The protesting students ended their today’s protest programme around 4:00pm.  

Abrar, a second-year student of electrical and electronic engineering department of Buet, was beaten to death by some Chhatra League men at a dormitory on Monday, sparking countrywide outrage.

Since the brutal murder of Abrar, his fellow students continued their demonstration on the campus to press home their 10-point demand, including death penalty for Abrar’s killers.

What else is there in the 10-point demand?

Agitating students placed a fresh 10-point demand yesterday, which also included capital punishment to the killers, expulsion of all the accused from the university.

Students demanded an end to all sorts of ragging in the residential halls.

They wanted a common website/platform/forum which will have all such incidents that have previously occurred and will contain details of the legal progress. Buet Institutional Information System account needs to be used for this platform and work in this regard needs to be visible by October 11, the students demanded.

CCTV cameras should be installed on both sides of every wing of the residential halls, the students added.

The other demands are withdrawal of Sher-e-Bangla Hall Provost Muhammad Zafar Iqbal Khan by 5:00pm of October 11 for his failure to protect students, compensation to Abrar’s family and bearing their expenses for running legal battle in the murder case.

They also demanded expulsion of all the identified killers from Buet for life within 72 hours, trial of the Abrar murder case at a speedy tribunal, and expulsion of those involved in ragging students at Buet dormitories.

However, the hall provost resigned yesterday amid the student protest.