Students suspend protest issuing ultimatum for arrest of attempted rape suspect

Students at Jahangirnagar University have suspended their protest after issuing a 48-hour ultimatum demanding the arrest of the individual accused of attempting to rape a female student.

They also warned that if the suspect is not arrested within the stipulated time, they will demand the resignation of the university’s proctorial team and boycott classes.

The protesting students announced the decision at around 3:30 am on Thursday, following discussions with the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan.

Earlier, at around 10:30 pm, more than a thousand female students brought out a protest march from the university’s Tarzan area. Male students also joined the demonstration in solidarity.

After the march, the protesters first gathered in front of the proctor’s office and later continued their movement in front of the university’s new administrative building.

Several protesting students said that they had begun the demonstration at around 10:30 pm in protest against the attempted rape incident and what they described as the administration’s failure to ensure campus security.

The procession moved through several roads before stopping in front of the proctor’s office, where the protesters demanded the arrest and punishment of the accused.

At one stage, a protester announced a five-point list of demands. The key demands included the arrest of the accused within 24 hours and the resignation of the proctor and the proctorial team after accepting responsibility for the security failure. Some students also demanded the resignation of the vice-chancellor.

According to witnesses, after the five-point demands were announced in front of the proctor’s office, many general students expressed disagreement with all the demands.

Some also alleged that leaders and activists of a specific student organisation were attempting to dominate the movement unilaterally. As a result, the protesters split into two groups and continued the demonstration separately.

At around 11:45 pm, the protesters moved to the university’s new administrative building and continued the movement there. The demonstrators again divided into two factions.

One group included leaders and activists from Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Chhatra Shakti, and Chhatra Front, along with a section of general students.

The other group included leaders and activists from Bangladesh Student Union and organisations engaged in politics under the banner of progressive students on campus, alongside another section of general students.

After prolonged separate demonstrations, several female students representing both groups joined discussions with Vice-Chancellor Professor Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan inside the administrative building.

During the meeting, the students submitted a six-point list of demands to the VC.

After he assured them that the administration would implement the demands, the students returned to their halls at around 3:30 am.

The students’ primary demand stated that the offender must be arrested within 48 hours.

If the administration fails to fulfil this demand, the proctor and members of the proctorial team must resign after accepting responsibility for the failure.

The students also demanded effective measures to prevent harassment, the formation of a quick response team under the direct supervision of the proctorial team, round-the-clock operation of the team, the introduction of an active emergency hotline, stronger campus security measures, deployment of sufficient security guards at every gate, repair of structural security flaws within seven days, recruitment of female security personnel and their inclusion in the quick response Team, and the formulation and implementation of cyber security regulations for students on campus.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Naziha Nawar, a student from the Economics Department who participated in the movement, said, “We have submitted our clear six-point demands to the vice-chancellor in writing. He has assured us that the demands will be implemented. If our demands are not fulfilled, we will resume our programmes and boycott classes and examinations from next Sunday.”

At around 11:00 pm on Tuesday, an unidentified man allegedly dragged a female student from a road adjacent to the abandoned Fazilatunnesa Hall to a dark area and attempted to rape her.

Later on Wednesday afternoon, the university administration filed a case with Ashulia police station against an unidentified suspect.