Quota reform protesters attacked by BCL at JU

A protest of Jahangirnagar University students allegedly came under attack by Bangladesh Chhatra League men last night. The protesters allege that BCL leaders and activists of Bishwakabi Rabindranath Thakor residential hall carried out the attack at around 2:45 am last night.

Earlier at around 9:00am, students from different halls started chanting slogans including ‘tumi k ami k, Rajakar Rajakar’, ‘Chaite gelam odhikar, hoye gelam rajakar’. They started gathering at the Bottola area on the campus at around 11:30pm. At that time, an allegation surfaced that BCL leaders and activists blocked two protestors in the Rabindranath Tagore hall. The protesters took position in front of the hall to free them around 12:30am.

At one point, the hall provost Nazmul Hasan Talukder held a meeting with some BCL leaders while students continued their protest. As a procession of the protesters came in front of Rabindranath Tagore hall at around 1:45am, BCL men obstructed them.

Witnesses said university proctor Mohammad Alamgir Kabir and some other teachers tried to quell the both. BCL men at that time termed the protesters as Jamaat-Shibir men and used abusive words against female students.

The BCL men carried out the attack at around 2:45am. A video footage of the incident that went viral shows that BCL men including hall president post aspirant Prachurja carried out the attack. A protester named Ahsan Habib and a security officer were injured in the attack.

The protesters accused the hall provost of instigating the BCL men. The provost Nazmul Hasan Talukder denied the allegation.

Towhidul Alam, treasurer of BCL’s university unit and senior leader of BCL at the hall, said, “The protesters came in front of our hall and chanted slogans insulting Liberation War, Bangabandhu and Chhatra League in the name of quota movement. When we wanted to take out a peaceful procession, they stopped us and abused us. We did not attack them, rather showed enough respect. They attacked us when we were going back to the hall."

The protesters started returning to their respective halls around 4:30am on assurance that pro vice chancellor Mohammad Mostafa Firoz will discuss the matter with them.