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Jahangirnagar University has been closed till August 25 following the
violence on campus brewed over police firing on the students Wednesday
night.
The decision was taken at an emergency syndicate
meeting of the university Thursday afternoon, Abu Bakar Siddique,
registrar of the university, told The Daily Star.
The authorities also asked the male students to vacate their dormitories by 6:00pm today and female students by 9:00am Friday.
A
probe body led by Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof Farhad Hossain was formed to
investigate into the violence that resulted in the closure.
The probe body was asked to submit its report within 21 days.
Earlier
on Wednesday night, six students of the university were injured when
police fired rubber bullets on them while they were trying to foil an
arrest attempt of one of their fellows by the law enforcers.
Protesting
the police attack, the students blocked the Dhaka-Aricha highway since
12:05am Thursday, reports our JU correspondent.
They put
barricades in front of the gate No.1, 2 and 3 of the university, halting
transport movement on the highway creating a 12-km traffic jam on both
sides.
The students however withdrew the blockade around 3:45pm after the authorities asked the students to vacate their dormitories.
A
chase and counter-chase also took place between the law enforcers and
students at noon when police trying to use water canon to disperse the
agitating students from the highway.
Academic activities at the university remained suspended on Thursday following the agitation.
The
JU authorities have postponed dean election at four faculties scheduled
to be held today, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Farhad Hossain told The Daily
Star.
The violence erupted on the university campus when
some unruly youths stabbed Towhidul Islam Likhon, an activist of
president-secretary group of Bangladesh Chhatra League, a faction of JU
BCL unit, near the dairy gate around 10:30pm Wednesday.
Likhon,
a student of economics department and a resident of Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman Hall, was rushed to the university’s medical centre from
where he was shifted to Enam Medical College and Hospital at Savar.
Protesting
the attack, general students brought out processions on the campus
around 11:00pm, demanding punishment of the attackers.
After
few moments, police entered Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall of the
university and tried to arrest Nahid, a third year student of
anthropology department, on charge of attacking Likhon.
Police shot blank fire when other students resisted them from arresting Nahid.
At one stage of altercation, police shot rubber bullets on the students, injuring six of them, students claimed.
The law enforcers left the scene immediately with empty hands in face of student protest.
Among
the bullet-hit students, five – Rakib of pharmacy department, Bashir of
statistics, Maruf of information technology, Robin of mathematics and
Nahid of finance and banking department— were rushed to Enam Medical
College Hospital. They however were discharged from the hospital later.
After
the firing, students took to the streets soon after the midnight and
put barricades on the highway, demanding resignation of the provost and
proctorial body and punitive action against the responsible police
personnel.
They claimed that police entered the campus as per the instruction of the university authorities.
On information, the VC rushed to the spot and tried in vain to quell the agitating students.
The students also vandalised a vehicle carrying proctorial body when they reached the spot to settle the matter.
Around
6:00am Thursday, Proctor Tapan Kumar Saha, Pro-VC Farhad and Treasurer
Nasirudddin talked to the students but they refused to withdraw the
barricades.
Contacted, Mohammad Asaduzzaman,
officer-in-charge of Savar Police Station, said they went to arrest
Nahid as a complaint was lodged against him on charge of attacking BCL
man Likhon.
“We were compelled to open fire in face of student protest,” the OC said.
The
general students claimed that people, who killed JU student Zubair
Ahmed in January, might have made the attack on Likhon as he along with
the other students formed a human chain on the campus on Wednesday
demanding punishment of the Zubair’s killers.
Source: The Daily Star
