Removal of Dhaka University proctor demanded

Santrash Birodhi Chhatra Oikya (Students United Against Terror), an alliance of 12 student organisations coalescing around the need for campuses to be free of violence, calls for the immediate removal of Dhaka University proctor for failing to provide security of the students. Photo: UNB
Santrash Birodhi Chhatra Oikya (Students United Against Terror), an alliance of 12 student organisations coalescing around the need for campuses to be free of violence, calls for the immediate removal of Dhaka University proctor for failing to provide security of the students. Photo: UNB

Santrash Birodhi Chhatra Oikya (Students United Against Terror), an alliance of 12 student organisations coalescing around the need for campuses to be free of violence, has rather symbolically called for the immediate removal of the proctor of Dhaka University (DU) for failing to provide security of the students.

The alliance also placed a four-point demand towards ensuring terror-free and democratic environment on the campus, reports news agency UNB.

The students came up with these demands from a press conference held at Modhur Canteen on the campus on Thursday.

Faisal Mahmud, general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra Federation, placed the four points on behalf of the SUAT alliance, and said the environment of the campus is going from bad to worse day by day as organisations linked with the ruling party maintain a reign of terror.

He blamed the university's administration and demanded the removal of proctor AKM Golam Rabbani for his absolute failure to take any step in this regard.

The other demands of the alliance are -- allocating only legal seats in residential halls under the supervision of the university administration, eradicating ‘terrorism’ from campus, end to seat grabbing and 'guest room' culture in all residential halls, trial and permanent expulsion of those involved in the attack on Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU) VP and ending all kinds of harassment of general students.

VP Nurul reiterates demand 

About the city poll date DUCSU VP Nurul Haque Nur said at the press conference, the decision to hold the Dhaka city poll on 30 January is ‘unconstitutional’ as Bangladesh is a secular country.

“People of every faith have the right to observe their religious occasions as they see fit, and they must get to exercise this right,” Nur said.

Students in Dhaka will not be able to celebrate Saraswati Puja with the usual revelry as educational institutions will be used as polling stations for the elections.

“We think the election commission has intentionally fixed the date to create a chaos centering this election and that’s why they are not changing the date amid protest from all sections of people,” he added.