Use of arms justified!

A probe committee formed by the Bangladesh Chhatra League has concluded that the BCL men were justified in using firearms when they clashed with the protesting students at Rajshahi University in February.
The RU students took to the streets protesting fee hikes and evening shift master's courses imposed by the university authority.
The BCL men had no alternative to using the firearms in “self-defence”, and to protect themselves from the attack perpetrated by cadres of the Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, sources in the probe body told The Daily Star.
The five-member probe committee, headed by central Vice-President Joydev Nondee, submitted the report to the organisation's president and general secretary in the last week of February.
The BCL central body formed the committee on February 3, the day following the incident. It also asked the committee to place the report within five working days.
No fewer than 100 students and eight journalists were injured in the BCL attack allegedly backed by police on the RU campus on February 2. The authorities then closed the university sine die. It, however, reopened on March 10.

During the attack, two RU unit BCL leaders -- Joint General Secretary Nasim Ahmed Satu and Organising Secretary Samsuzzman Emon -- were seen with firearms. Later, the BCL expelled the duo and formed the probe committee.
Meanwhile, in parliament on February 4, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the armed cadres were not activists of the BCL.
During the unscheduled discussion on the RU incident, she defended the BCL saying that everybody has the right to defend himself.  
In its report, the probe committee passed the blame on to Shibir, and said Shibir cadres from Rajshahi College and Rajshahi City unit had also joined hands with the RU unit.
The Shibir men first exploded bombs and instigated the BCL men to launch the attack in self-defence, sources in the committee said, quoting the report.
The report also claimed that Shibir men had been leading the student protests on the campus.
In the middle of January, general students of the RU first started demonstrating, as the university authorities in December decided to increase various fees with effect from February.
The students also raised their voices against seven evening shift master's courses introduced in January.
Joydev Nondee, head of the probe committee, said they had submitted the report to the BCL president and general secretary. He, however, declined to make any comments on the findings.
Contacted, BCL President M Badiuzzaman Sohag admitted that the organisation had received the report.
He said they had taken action against the persons responsible for the incident.  
Sources in the committee said they had prepared the report based on media reports. /
Only one of the five members of the committee, BCL Vice-president Shahinur Rashid Shohel, visited the RU and talked to general students and teachers to prepare the report, the sources added.
The committee found only two BCL men, seen with firearms, guilty and recommended that the duo be handed down the punishment of life-term expulsion from the party. The previous expulsion was indefinite.
The report mentioned that no other leaders were seen with firearms.
The report also recommended that the BCL leaders of the university not react to any instigation for the sake of the organisation's image, and warned them of tougher punishment if they commit such incidents in future.   
The BCL leaders were advised to consult with responsible leaders before taking any major decision, the sources said.
After getting the report, the central president and general secretary phoned the RU unit leaders and warned them in this regard, sources confirmed.
The RU report proved to be an exception, as the BCL formed such probe committees in the past only to get media attention, sources said.
In another recent incident, the BCL formed an investigation committee on February 23 following a clash between two groups of the organisation over establishing supremacy at Government Azam Khan Commerce College in Khulna on February 22. About 20 BCL men were injured in the clash.
The three-member committee, headed by BCL Vice-president Imamul Haque Sarker Titu, was asked to submit the probe report to central president or general secretary within the next five working days. But the committee members are yet to visit Khulna and prepare any report.
The BCL, however, suspended the city unit activities for an indefinite period following the clash.
Titu admitted that the probe committee members did not visit Khulna, but claimed that they had been talking to the BCL Khulna unit leaders over the phone to make the report.
BCL General Secretary Siddiqui Nazmul Alam said local AL influence was one of the reasons behind the incident.
“We are trying to include one or two Awami League leaders in the committee to investigate the incident properly,” he said.