M M Jasim :
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) has reportedly become an important place for carrying out militant activities.
Several students have been arrested in the last two months by the law enforcing agencies on charge of their alleged involvement in the militancy activities.
At the latest, two students of the university were arrested in connection with the militancy on Thursday.
The students have been identified as Rokonuzzaman Rana, a fourth-year student of Petroleum and Mining Engineering (PME) Department, and Mehedy Hasan Tuhin, a second-year student of Industrial Production Engineering (IPE) Department. Students Welfare Adviser of the university Professor Rashed Talukder said a team of law enforcers wearing plain clothes arrested the two students after informing the university authorities. Rana was arrested from Tapoban residential area and Tuhin from Surma residential area of Akhalia in the city in the afternoon, Rashed Talukder said.
On August 18, the police arrested Sadman Abedin, a fourth year Computer Science and Engineering Department of SUST from the campus for his suspected links with militancy.
On August 3, police arrested Iffat Ahmed Chowdhury, a fourth year student of Industrial and Production Engineering Department (IPE) for his alleged involvement with militancy.
On July 18, a team of police’s Counterterrorism unit arrested Abdul Aziz, a student of Industrial and Production Engineering Department.
The police also arrested Jewel Ahmed, a masters student of the university for the same reason.
Police claimed that Abdul Aziz was the SUST coordinator of the militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) at Sust and Jewel Ahmed an active member of Hijb-ut-Tahrir.
The details of Iffat and Sadman were not revealed, but all four are in custody now.
Chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC) Professor Abdul Mannan told The New Nation on Thursday that the involvement of the SUST students in militancy is regrettable and matter of deep thinking.
“The militancy is not the problem of the country’s public and private universities. It is the ‘generation problem.’ Earlier, we blamed the teachers and the students of madrasas. But now we see that the students from affluent families are getting involved in militancy activities. Only social awareness can prevent the militancy and protect the young generation from this curse,” Professor Mannan said.
“We have asked the public and private university authorities to form anti-militancy monitoring team to combat it. I know the SUST authorities formed a monitoring team and have been working in this regard,” he said.
The UGC Chairman also thanked the law enforcing agencies for their relentless drives to nab the militants and requested to continue it in the interest of the country.
