JU Correspondent :
Eight activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) of Jahangirnagar University unit are declared persona non grata for beating a campus-based journalist in university’s Rabindranath Tagore Hall.
On Tuesday night, JU BCL President Aktaruzzaman Shohel declared eight BCL activists of the unit persona-non-grata from all sorts of their programme after finding their involvement in ‘torturing’ a journalist.
The victim is a JU correspondent of an online portal and a second year student of Journalism and Media Studies Department of the university. He was allegedly tortured by eight BCL men on Tuesday night as he refused to join guestroom meeting, where the BCL men usually torture fresher at midnight.
The victim claimed, “Seven to eight BCL activists of Biswakabi Rabindranath Tagore hall unit were bullying me in the hall guestroom as I denied their ‘first call’ to join a pre-planned meeting — arranged at 12:00 am to torture the second year student and to teach manner.”
“At one point, five to six of them started punching me randomly and seized my cell phone. They tortured me about half an hour to unlock my phone”, he said.
Later at about 2:00am on Wednesday, JU BCL President Akhtaruzzaman Shohel and General Secretary Habibur Rahman Liton rushed to the hall and talked with victim and alleged BCL men in front of journalists.
The accused BCL men are Asad Haque, Arif Zaman Shejan, Rayhan Bin Habib of Anthropology, Masum Billah of Law and Justice, Muntasir Ahmed Tahrim of Zoology, Ziyad Mirza of Economics,
Mir Hasibul Hasan Reshad of Philosophy and Jahid Hasan of Chemistry. Asad, Shejan are Master’s students, Rayhan, Tahrim, Ziyad, Reshad are Honours final year students and Jahid is a 3rd-year student of the university.
Accused Jahid Hasan said, “I was present at the meeting. But I did not beat him up. Other accused men locked into scuffle with the journalist as he was putting his cell phone on record.’
A complaint was filed by the victim with the Biswakabi Rabindranath Tagore hall Provost in this regard. Members of the Jahangirnagar University Journalists’ Association (JUJA) met with the VC, Pro-VC, Treasurer and Proctor demanding the highest punishment of this incident.
Hall Provost Abdullahel Kafi told the journalists, “We will hold a meeting with hall administrative members tonight (Wednesday night) and form an investigative body to take step over the matter. Proper action will be ensured within three working days.”
University Proctor ASM Firoz-Ul-Hasan said that steps taken by the hall administration would be regarded as the university decision.
