The High Court has asked for all internal reports of police about the firing on agitating students of Rajshahi University (RU).
The bench of Justices Mirza Hussain Haider and Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar issued the order on Monday based on the hearing of a writ petition.Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoi Borua filed the petition on behalf of 14 teachers of the public university on Feb 18. The bench said the court needed the reports to examine whether the firing were necessitated or were unwarranted. It ordered that the reports before and after the firing to be submitted for examination.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) Commissioner and OC of Motihar Police Station have been asked to submit the reports.
The bench issued a rule wanting to know on what authority police had fired on the demonstrating RU students on Feb 2. It also wanted to know why directives should not be given for submission of the reports to higher authorities before and after the firing.
The Home Secretary, IGP, Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) Commissioner and OC of Motihar Police Station have been asked reply in four weeks.
Jyotirmoi Barua argued for the petitioner while Deputy Attorney General Al Amin Sarker represented the state.
Police had resorted to a baton-charge, lobbed tear shells, and fired from shotguns, injuring 50, mostly students, for protesting the university’s decision to increase tuition fee and introduce evening classes on Feb 2.
Armed members of the ruling party’s student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League had also joined the attack, leading to an indefinite closure of the university.
