RU: Teachers intervene as DB men try to pick up students
Students of Rajshahi University tussled with police today. The incident took place while teachers tried to intervene as police tried to detain students in front of the university’s administrative building.
A journalist was allegedly attacked and another harassed during the incident.
RU sources said the University Teacher’s Network organised a silent procession at 12 noon today. Some students also joined teachers in the procession titled ‘Resist the killers of students-mass people’. The procession had started around 11:15am in front of Shaheed Buddhijibi Memorial and ended at the same place after parading different streets of the campus. While teachers were addressing the gathering, Detective Branch (DB) members tried to detain three students. As the teachers tried to resist the detention of the students, a scuffle broke out between teachers and police that lasted around seven minutes. Later the teachers took away the students. RU proctor was also present there.
Professor A-Al Mamun of Mass Communication and Journalism said, ‘Give safe exit to our students. If anyone touches our students, we will not take any liability of what will follow. We will not tolerate anyone touching our colleagues. What has happened is very wrong. You cannot pick up any students this way. Is there any case against them? How can you whisk away people? We are protesting this. Whatever you call them, Shibir or anything else, you cannot take them this way without any arrest warrant. Such behavior has brought the nation into the current situation. We have to keep in mind that Chhatra League and you (law enforcers) have been doing this for the last 12 years.’
Selim Reza (Newton), a professor of the same department of RU, said, “I don’t know if they are plainclothesmen or not. I don’t know them. They didn’t tell us that they are DB men…what I see is hooliganism. I saw they carried away our boys sprawled out. This is Rajshahi University. We won’t allow this at our university as long as we live. I want to know which force they belong to.’
Among the other teachers present include professor Souvik Reza of Bangla department, Syed Mohammad Ali Reza of Management Studies department, Md Habib Zakaria and Kazi Shusmin Afsana of Drama department, Md Shatil Siraz and Kazi Mamun Haider of Mass Communication and Journalism department, Susmita Chakrabarty and Amirul Islam (Kanak) of Folklore department, Farid Uddin Khan of Economics department, Khandakar Md Mahmudul Hasan of Physics department, Md Shahriar Parvez of Law and Land Administration department, Sadeka Banu of Psychology department, Sarafat Hossain Ovi of Mechatronics department of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology, Md Samiul Sabbir Islam of Architecture department and Ahsan Habib of English department.
Several protester students said the coordinators of Student Against Discrimination movement announced to hold a centrally declared ‘Remembering our Heroes’ around 10:30am. But how the police responded to them is illegal. But the students did not tell the police anything.
Meanwhile, Arpan Dhar, RU correspondent of Samakal, alleged that police harassed him for taking video footage of the incident. Identity card of Amzad Hossain, Rajshahi correspondent of Daily Campus, has been torn and he was punched.
Apran said a DB man summoned him while another dragged him despite showing his identity card. Later they left him as another police man, who happens to know him, asked his colleagues to leave him which they abided by.
One DB man was saying, ‘This guy is a major informer. Pick him up,’ said Arpan.
RU proctor Asabul Haque said some students from outside colleges and schools came to join the protest of teachers. The proctor said he learnt that those students hurled shoes at the police. Later the outsiders left the campus at the help of the teachers.
Rajshahi Metropolitan Police’s (RMP) additional police commissioner (crime and operation) Mohammad Hemayetul Islam told journalists, ‘Nothing has happened here. The protesters were mostly peaceful and they still are. Only 2/3 students came out and quarreled with police. One of them attacked a policeman. That’s why they were interrogated. They were not students, they were outsiders. Why did they do that.’
When the journalists present asked the police officer, ‘Nothing of that sort actually happened. Why did the DB men tussle with them?’
In reply, he gave the same reply again.