College student detained for inappropriately filming female protesters at DU

A college student was detained by Dhaka University students on Tuesday evening for allegedly filming female protesters inappropriately during a demonstration against the display of images of convicted war criminals on campus.

The student was later handed over to the university’s proctorial team. Witnesses alleged that activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir tried to prevent his detention.

The incident took place at the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) premises. The detained student is enrolled at Kabi Nazrul Government College.

Upon reviewing his phone and Facebook account in the presence of the university proctor, it was discovered that he had shared posts about several controversial figures, including Osama bin Laden. He was also found to be an active member of a Facebook Messenger group named “Islami Chhatra Shibir, Chaumuhani Kachua.”

Raktabeej Arko, a Dhaka University student, said, “I was walking around the TSC area in the evening when I saw a man pointing his phone at women and zooming in to film them inappropriately. When nearby students confronted him, he suddenly ran into the TSC premises. We tried to follow him, but small teams from secret organisation blocked our entry.”

In a social media post, Arko wrote, “During nearly four hours of questioning, the man changed his name six times and showed more than four different Facebook accounts.”

Arko further alleged in his post that Shibir activists tried to shield the student. “In the presence of the proctor, it was confirmed that the individual is an active member of the ‘Islami Chhatra Shibir–Chaumuhani Kachua’ group on Messenger. Why were Shibir members at the scene trying to hide him?”

Nahian Faruk, joint secretary of the Bangladesh Gonotantrik Chhatra Sangsad, wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday night, “Who shelters sexual harassers? There was a protest at TSC against the display of war criminals’ photos. In response, Shibir activists began chanting slogans near the TSC gate. Amidst this, one Shibir activist entered our protest and started filming women inappropriately. When caught, he fled into the Shibir rally and sought refuge inside TSC.”

He further alleged, “When we tried to detain the offender, Shibir activists blocked us. They let the harasser in, but barred us from entering TSC. We forced our way in and spoke with the proctor and Shibir’s DU wing president SM Farhad. After that, the harasser was finally apprehended.”

Speaking about this, DU Proctor Saifuddin Ahmed told Prothom Alo, “The boy studies at Kabi Nazrul College and is from Chandpur. He seemed somewhat naive to me, but clearly Islamic-leaning. I told student leaders I had two options—either hand him over to the police or release him with a written bond signed by his family members.”

“Later, two of his cousins and a friend arrived. We took a written bond from him, kept his photo and phone. We will send copies of the bond to police stations in Chandpur, Shahbagh, and Chawkbazar, where he resides. A general diary (GD) will be filed. If he’s involved in anything similar again, the police can take direct action,” he added.

The proctor confirmed the student’s family had taken him home.