M M Jasim :
The agitating students, who have been demonstrating to cut ties with seven affiliated colleges, vowed to continue their movement until their demands are met.
They have added three more demands in their movement. The demands include suspension of leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League involved in attack and assault on the agitating students, withdrawal of cases filed against them, and resignation of the DU Proctor for his failure to protect the victims. The students warned of tough movement that includes shut down of the university in case of the DU administration failure to materialize their demands.
The students hold the university administration responsible for all kinds of attacks and assaults on the agitating students.
They said that the university took the charge of the seven colleges without studying its capacity and the quality of the institutions. As a result, the seven colleges students have been demonstrating against DU. On the other hand, they are committing different misdeeds in the name of the university. It is very unfortunate for the DU, they said.
“It is emergency to ensure the world standard education at DU and to restore its image. But the authorities took new burden. We have protested for the greater interest of the students and the university. But the BCL men assaulted us and the DU authorities filed cases. We will continue our movement until our all demands are met,” said Mahid Shahriar, a student of Accounting and Information Systems Department.
“We don’t fear the arrest warrant and threat from any quarter. Our demands must be fulfilled. A university cannot go in such an unfair way,” Rajib Kumar Das, a student of Political Science Department said.
Rajib also carried a placard on Friday with the writings “Arrest Me,” “I vandalized the Proctor Office Gate,” “I am a agitator.” Several hundred students of Dhaka University have been demonstrating against the affiliation of seven colleges. They were observing sit-in programme in front of the VC’s Office on Monday.
Leaders of the BCL’s DU unit forcibly took Institute of Information Technology student Moshiur Rahman Sadi, who was coordinating the protests, inside the VC’s office.
He was confined for a day at Shahbagh Police Station and then handed to his family on Tuesday night.
On Monday, the protesting students said that the BCL leaders, including some female ones, assaulted the female students demonstrating in front of the VC’s office.
On Wednesday, the students were protesting against the BCL and besieged the Proctor in his office.
They broke the collapsible gate of the building after the authorities locked it seeing them coming.
They suspended the protests after Vice-Chancellor Md Akhtaruzzaman assured them of investigating the alleged BCL assault. The VC told The New Nation on Thursday night that the authorities had formed a committee to probe the allegation of BCL attack. Proctor Rabbani, however, said they had also formed a committee to investigate Thursday’s vandalism.
