CRIMES on the campus of Dhaka University have been on the rise for the past few months and the situation has turned worse amid lax security arrangements, according to a report by a local daily. Vehicles that are not allowed on the campus, including buses, trucks and motorcycles, run recklessly in violation of the rule, often leading to accidents. Mugging and extortion also take place frequently.
Students and teachers have said that these incidents happen because of negligence of the university authorities and on-duty law enforcers – as per the report. Although the university has eight entrances, there is no facility to monitor entry and exit of people and vehicles. In the last one year, 35 motorbikes and 40 bicycles were either lost or snatched on the campus while theft took place in at least 10 residential facilities of teachers and university officials.
More than a hundred mobile phones and laptops of students were lost but none of those could be recovered even after filing general diaries with Shahbagh police station, sources said. Areas adjacent to the campus, including Palashi, Kataban, Doyel Chattar, Shishu Academy, Bangla Academy, Shahbagh, and Chankharpool turn into a hotbed of mugging when the sun sets. Students, teachers and even foreign teachers became victims of mugging. In the last two years, at least three foreign guests and teachers fell prey to theft and mugging in side the DU Campus.
Students and the university’s acting proctor Amzad Ali said a syndicate was responsible for the crimes on the campus. Amzad said some outsiders were involved in the incidents. The acting proctor denied involvement of students in such incidents. Meanwhile, some leaders of Chhatra League have been alleged to be involved in campus crimes. Seeking anonymity, a sub-inspector of Shahbagh police station said around 50% of the crimes were committed by students, especially Chhatra League men, as per the report. These men frequently engage themselves in such acts as police are forced to leave them for their political identity.
It is evident from the report that at least 50 percent of all crimes would be stopped if the police were allowed to carry out their duty – as they were carried out by students with affiliation to the ruling party – but unfortunately interference by the higher authorities led to their release even after being arrested. This must be stopped immediately – students who mug people are not students – they are common criminals and must be treated as such. The university authority, if it has the courage of honesty, must enquire to find out the type of students who think they have protection against crimes. Their involvement in our national politics is not an example of honesty or courage. The students who are politically protected, they are the ones to be blamed.
