Committee carrying out inquiry at Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall

The inquiry committee formed upon orders of the High Court and the university inquiry committee, are carrying out investigations for the second day into the incident of a first-year student being tortured at Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall of Kushtia Islamic University.

Members of the two committees visited the hall today, Tuesday, a holiday for Shaheed Dibash and International Mother Language Day.

The hall's branch official Abdul Razzak, speaking to Prothom Alo at 11:00 am Tuesday, said members of the university's inquiry committee entered the hall after 10:00 this morning. They spoke to a number of the residential students in the office of the hall provost.

At around 11:00 am, members of the inquiry committee formed at the behest of the High Court, entered Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall. They went towards the provost's office too.

An official of the hall said, the members of the inquiry committee formed on court order will speak to residential students of the hall. The statements of the two Chhatra League leaders, Sanjida Chowdhury and Tabassum Islam, will also be heard in context of the allegations brought about by the victim of torture Fulpori Khatun. This committee will also speak to the house tutor and other officials and employees.

Kushtia's deputy commissioner Mohammad Saidul Islam formed this committee on Sunday night. The members of the committee include Kushtia's additional magistrate ANM Abjur Gifari, senior judicial magistrate Mahmuda Sultana and assistant professor of Islamic University's department of accounts and IT and assistant proctor Shahbub Alam.

Fulpori Khatun, a first year student of the finance department, complained that she had been to the 'gono room' of Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall on the night of 12 February where she was detained for four and a half hours and tortured.

She alleged that president of the university unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), Sanjida Chowdhury and her followers had tortured her. They had stripped her and made a video of her, verbally abused and threatened to kill her if she disclosed the incident to anyone.

The victim on Wednesday afternoon submitted a written complaint in this regard to the university proctor, hall provost and student counselor.

At a preliminary hearing on Thursday of a writ regarding this torture, a High Court bench comprising Justice JBM Hasan and Justice Razik Al-Jalil issued a ruling along with directives.

The court directives called for a three-member inquiry committee to be formed and look into the incident and also to take measures so that Sanjida and Tabassum did not remain on campus during the investigations.

The court further said that the two BCL leaders could, however, be summoned in interests of the investigation. The court also ordered that the safety of the victim be ensured.

Following this, on Thursday evening, BCL leader Sanjida and her associate Tabassum Islam left the campus. They came to the campus on Monday as summoned by the inquiry committee.