Students were not involved, they have been implicated: ATM Moinul Hossain
A tense situation still prevails in the New Market area following the clashes erupted between Dhaka College Students and New Market traders over a trivial matter.
Although students were asked to vacate the hostels, they are still staying on the campus. This is not the first time the Dhaka College students locked into violent clashes with the New Market traders. Before that, students locked into clashes with them on several occasions in the past.
The acting principal of Dhaka College ATM Moinul Hossain talked over this issue in an interview with Prothom Alo.
Several students were wounded in the clashes. What are their latest conditions?
A student, Mosharraf Hossain, has been undergoing treatment at an intensive care unit (ICU) in Square Hospital. The education minister visited the hospital yesterday, Tuesday, to see him while the deputy education minister and director general of secondary and higher education directorate went to the hospital today, Wednesday. Now, his condition is better than before.
Two more injured students were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). They are also well. Beyond this, nearly 200 students are taking primary treatment from different places. They are also in our surveillance.
The clash erupted on Monday and then halted. But the conflict resumed later and continued throughout Tuesday. Couldn’t the clash have been controlled through a compromise between the two groups within such a long time?
On Monday night, we brought our students back to the college and they were staying peacefully. But all of a sudden, people from the market carried out an attack on our students on Tuesday morning, entering into the college campus, which caused the problem.
Students have questioned the role of policemen: they are claiming the police took the businessmen’s side [in the violence]. Have you noticed any negligence?
We have forwarded the students’ claims to the higher authority. The teachers were also the victims of teargas shells. As the students were staying inside the campus, it wasn’t needed to fire teargas shells—that was an excess.
Students were asked to leave the dormitories by Tuesday evening. But they haven’t followed this direction. What will be the next step?
We have implemented the direction of the education ministry. However, we hope the students will leave the hostels by today, Wednesday.
Before this conflict, several unwanted incidents took place between Dhaka College students and the New Market traders. Is there no permanent solution to this [problem]? What will you say?
At first, the mentalities of the sellers will have to be changed if the permanent solution is sought. The attitudes and the mentalities of the sellers are very rude. Those who come here to purchase [the necessary things] are the victims of rough behaviour. People who come from outside [different areas] may tolerate this [behaviour].
But when the similar incident takes place with the students of Dhaka University, Dhaka College or Eden Mohila College, they don’t tolerate it, which triggers the violence. But this time the conflict broke out from their [New Market traders] internal feud. Students were not involved in this [violence]; they have been implicated.