The Comilla University teacher, who allegedly took class on National Mourning Day, has been sent on forced leave for a month, the university proctor said.

The university authorities today took the decision against Mahbubul Haque Bhuiyan, a lecturer and also the acting chairman of department of mass media and communication, amid protest of the university unit Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), reports our Comilla correspondent.

The agitating BCL men alleged that Mahbubul conducted class on August 15 “showing utter disrespect and disregard to Father of the Nation” and submitted a memorandum to the vice-chancellor yesterday demanding his suspension from the university.

However, Mahbubul Haque Bhuiyan said, he was not taking any formal class on the day. As 10 to 12 students requested him to explain a topic, he just asked them to go to a classroom beside the teachers’ room, he added.

“As there were some other guests of other teachers, I told the students to go to a room and was explaining the topic. It was not any formal class. Their semester final examination has been going on and there is no option to take their classes,” Mahmubul said.

A four-member probe body headed by Mosleh Uddin, a senior syndicate member of the university, has been formed to investigate the incident, said Dr Kazi Mohammad Kamal Uddin, proctor of the university.

VC confined

A section of teachers confined the Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Md Ali Ashraf at his office this evening protesting the authorities’ decision to send Mahbubul on forced leave.

They staged a demonstration in front of the VC’s office and confined him at his office for over three hours, said Mehedi Hasan, general secretary of Comilla University Teachers’ Association.

Keeping the VC office padlocked, around 50 teachers of Bangabandhu Parishad, a pro-Awami League teacher front, also staged a demonstration.

However, the VC managed to leave his office around 9:00pm amid the teachers’ protest.

DU students protest over the decision

The students of Dhaka University Mass Communication and Journalism department today formed a human chain at Aparajeyo Bangla premises protesting the ‘false allegation’ brought against Mahbubul.

The protest programme was organised under the banner of former and present students of the department, around 11:00am, reports our DU correspondent.

Many teachers and media personalities also took part in the human chain.

The speakers at the protest rally said that the allegation of taking a class on the National Mourning Day is ‘false’ as the classes of the respective batch in question had been suspended long age due to final examinations.

They said that Mahbubul is being a victim of conspiracy.