Students protest assault on principal, boycott classes
Boycotting classes and examinations, teachers and students of Rajshahi Polytechnic Institute are demonstrating on Rajshahi-Naogaon highway today to realise their six-point demand including punishment of those who pushed the institute’s principal into a pond on the campus yesterday.
The students took to the street around 10:00am and formed a human chain where a good number of teachers and officials of the institute participated, reports our Rajshahi staff correspondent.
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Their other salient demands are – cancellation of the studentship of the accused Bangladesh Chhatra League men responsible for the incident, establishment of student politics-free campus, restriction on outsiders to enter the campus, ensure safety of all students, teachers and officials of the institute and ensure congenial atmosphere on the campus.
Meanwhile, five students, out of 25 who were detained from campus yesterday soon after the incident, have been shown arrested in a case filed by Farid Uddin with Chandrima Police Station, said Officer-in-charge of the police station Golam Mostafa.
CUTA DEMANDS IMMEDIATE PUNISHMENT
Protesting the incident, Chittagong University Teachers’ Association (CUTA) said they have been observing with grave concern that teachers’ humiliation, oppression and their torture have become common phenomena now-a-days in the country which is very alarming and unfortunate.
The teachers also demanded to the government to bring the culprits to book immediately.
CUTA today issued a press release signed by its President Prof Mohammad Jakir Hossain and General Secretary Prof Anjan Kumar Chowdhury in this regard.
HOW WAS THE PRINCIPAL ASSAULTED?
A group of Chhatra League men dragged Principal Farid Uddin Ahmed and pushed him into the pond yesterday as he did not “accept one of their illogical demands”, the teacher said.
Talking to some reporters, he said the youths, led by the institute unit BCL Joint Secretary Kamal Hossain Saurav, intercepted his way near a pond when he was walking towards his office around 2:00pm yesterday.
“Saurav said he wanted to talk to me. At one point, the students started dragging me to the pond and then pushed me there,” he said, adding, “I would have died if I had not known how to swim.”
The footage of a CCTV in the area shows some nine to 10 youths dragging the teacher by his hands and neck and then pushing him into the waterbody.
The principal said the BCL men in the university often go to him with “illogical demands”.
He said the institute authorities had recently decided not to allow two students to take examinations as their attendance was poor. Saurav had been asking Farid to change the decision, which he did not agree to.
After the incident, OC Golam Mostafa said the principal was targeted as he did not listen to the BCL men.
Last night, police raided several student accommodations near the campus and took at least 25 students to the police station for interrogation.
Farid Uddin filed the case against 57 people, including seven Chhatra League men, with the police station over the incident.
Contacted, Mehedi Hasan, president of the BCL unit, said one of those who dragged the teachers was a Chhatra League man.
Asked about Saurav, he admitted Saurav was present when the incident happened. ”I don’t know about the others.”
“We will take organisational actions against Saurav. If any other Chhatra League man is found involved, the person will also face action,” he added.
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