Women assault at DU: Cops ask for CCTV footage

Shahbagh police have sought CCTV footages from Dhaka Metropolitan Police headquarters to identify the youths who assaulted 20 women at Dhaka University campus during Pahela Baishakh celebration yesterday.

“DMP headquarters is yet to provide us with the footages,” Sirajul Islam, officer-in-charge of Shahbagh Police Station, told The Daily Star around 11:45am.

Once the footage is obtained, police will arrest those responsible for the incident after verifying the recording, the OC said.

Contacted acting Proctor Prof Amzad Ali confirmed the incident and said the authorities had asked police to close the gates of Suhrawardy Udyan by 4:00pm yesterday but they did not do that.

Witness said some of 30 to 40 unruly youths assaulted 20 women at different points near the TSC and Suhrawardy Udyan gate when they went there around 6:00pm to celebrate the first day of Bangla New Year.

A group assaulted a woman near Raju Sculpture area, said Liton Nandi, president of DU unit Bangladesh Students' Union and also an eye witness

“They also attacked me and broke my right arm when I tried to stop them,” he claimed.

Nandi received treatment at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.

Students’ Union, Pragatishil Chhatra Jote and other leftist student organisations of the university announced demonstrations on the campus today demanding immediate arrest of the assaulters.