Cry for justice still being heard on campus

Terming the recent death of a Dhaka University (DU) student “a murder”, two alliances of 13 students' organisations yesterday threatened to besiege the vice chancellor's office on February 24 if a neutral investigation committee was not formed and its report not made public.

That Salimullah Muslim Hall Provost Golam Mohammad Bhuiyan be kept out of the committee was also demanded by Bangladesh Chhatra Federation General Secretary Ashraful Alam Shohel.

A first year marketing student, Hafijur Mollah breathed his last on February 2 suffering from, as per his family, pneumonia and typhoid. His family and friends  allege he had a high fever and a cold which he had caught on having to take up residence on a corridor of the hall.

On top of that, he was compelled to keep standing for nearly four hours in the freezing cold at night on January 26 as part of a “guestroom duty” despite informing “senior Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) brothers” of his illness, they added.

Fresher say this “guestroom duty” is a regular session where BCL leaders brief activists on political activities and analyse them.

Yesterday, Progotishil Chhatra Jote and Samrajjobad Birodhi Chhatra Oikkya, joined by non-affiliated students, brought out a procession and staged a rally on the campus with a banner reading, “Stop student's harassments at guestrooms and ensure their security”.

They, along with some political party leaders who were present to express solidarity and others on social media, demanded trial of the accused BCL men and termed the death a result of a trend of “harassment at guestrooms”.

“The democratic culture is being destroyed through this kind of guestroom harassment,” said Bangladesh Chhatra Union President Lucky Akter.

“The pro-ruling party student organisation has created an atmosphere of anarchy in the campus compelling students of all dormitories to follow their command. The university administration never stands for all, rather supports the ruling power,” she said.

President of Samajtantrik Chhatra Front Saifuzzaman Sakon claimed, “As Hafijur is a son of an auto-rickshaw driver, an ordinary poor man, Hafijur's death is not even being considered as a death.”

Jatiya Mukti Council General Secretary Faizul Hakim Lala said, “BCL is grabbing students' freedom of speech and to think and is strengthening their domination through a seat allocation business in dormitories, extortion and tender business.”

Jatiya Mukti Council General Secretary Faizul Hakim Lala, Samajtantrik Chhatra Front President Saifuzzaman Sakon, Biplobi Chhatra Moitri President Salman Rahman and Firoz Ahmed of Gonosanghati Andolon also spoke condemning the DU administration's response over the death.

Talking to The Daily Star, the hall unit BCL General Secretary Didar Mohammad said, “Guest room sessions are a tradition of ours.” “Though he (Hafijur) came to stay at the hall through me, I never got to know about his illness…If he had let us know about his illness, we would have taken leave from any political programme,” he said.