At least 14 people were injured on Wednesday when handmade bombs were lobbed at a bus carrying faculty members of the Chittagong University (CU). Nine CU teachers have been rushed to the Chittagong Medical College and Hospital, said the CU Medical Centre’s Chief Medical Officer Kazi Saifullah. Five others including the driver of the bus received first-aid at the university’s medical centre. CU Teachers’ Association General Secretary Md Towhid Hasan told bdnews24.com three buses carrying teachers were on their way to the campus from the city. Two of the buses were attacked by a group of young men around 10 am at Hathajari’s Balir Tal area. CU Marketing Department teacher HM Kamrul Hasan, who was in one of the buses, said that six to seven people started throwing bricks and lob handmade bombs at the bus. “Chhatra Shibir has called this strike . They attacked the bus, ” he said. Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) is the student affiliate of the Jamaat-e-Islami. A student strike was called from Aug 31 under the banner of ‘Residential Hall Students’ after the authorities closed down the ‘Islami Chhatra Shibir-dominated’ Suhrawardy Hall when police found several hand bombs and local weapons there. The raid followed a clash between them and the ruling party student affiliate Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) on the campus on Aug 24. On Jan 12, CU authorities shut down the Shah Amanat Residential Hall after two students died in a clash between ICS and BCL activists. On Sept 1, miscreants hurled handmade bombs from a field at Choudhuryhaat targetting a shuttle train headed for the university on Monday. A CU teachers’ bus was also damaged on Sept 4 at the port city’s Pahartali area. – bdnews24.com
