Not a student, yet he controls all activities at CoU

Md Ilias Mia

Students at Comilla University need to sign a bond during admission that they will not get involved in politics. But Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) openly has political activity on campus.

Md Ilias Mia now controls the BCL politics of the university. He is no more a student and is a father now. Although it takes five years to complete university education (honours and masters), Ilias Mia has been staying on the campus for 15 years.

Sources said, BCL under the leadership of Ilias has been involved with recruitment manipulation, tender manipulation, attacks on teachers, occupying residential halls forcibly, use of arms and even murder. Last Thursday, some 30 to 40 leaders and activists of BCL led by the president and general secretary intercepted the vehicle of the VC demanding jobs in the university and contracting work in the different development activities.

The university administration is apparently helpless at the power of BCL leaders-activists although the VC AFM Abdul Moeen has said he would go by the rules in running the university.

How student politics start

Academic activities began in Comilla University on 28 May 2007. After Awami League assumed power in the 2008 national election, Mahmudur Rahman of the public administration department and Al Amin of the economics department initiated the BCL politics under the banner of ‘Comilla University Student Welfare Association’. Simultaneously, Moinuddin Shafiqur Rahman Chisty of the marketing department and Emdadul Bari of the accounting department started BCL politics under another banner ‘Comilla University Student Forum’.

These two factions would often clash. In one incident, Moinuddin was critically injured by the rivals. He needed 127 stitches on his back. One faction later backtracked from the race of power.

A 51-member convener committee of BCL was formed on 15 September, 2012. On 28 May 2017 a partial committee was formed making Ilias Mia president and Rezaul Islam of mathematics department general secretary. Later in the same year, they formed 161-member full-fledged committee.

This committee’s tenure has ended and studentship of half of the leaders have finished. Most of them have left university. Some accused of murder case of Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall BCL’s organising secretary Md Khalid Saifullah are also in that committee.

Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal also has a committee in the university but they don’t have any activities in the campus.

Comilla University hostage to Ilias

Ilias Mia is a student of 2006-07 session. He still lives in Shaheed Dhirendranath Dutta hall. Three leaders of BCL, on condition of anonymity, said Ilias is using BCL’s banner to serve his own purpose.

University sources said Ilias did not pass the admission test. The VC at that time professor Golam Mowla let him get admitted to the public administration department in a quota reserved for players. He started BCL politics after the 2008 election. Since then, he started to become desperate.

People concerned said Ilias assaulted a student, who is the younger sister of a university teacher and a student of the same university, in 2010 after she refused his proposal. He also assaulted Md Mashiur Rahman, associate professor of public administration department, on 24 January 2011 after the latter did not comply with the former’s demand for more marks. Ilias faced expulsion over the incident but he continued to stay at the university and he is still doing so.

Ilias and his cadres allegedly attacked and opened firing at the Riverview Filling Station on Dhaka-Chattogram highway in Paduar Bazar adjacent to railway overpass as he did receive extortion money from the filling station. Two people sustained bullet-injuries and eight were hurt in the accident.

Ilias also wielded arms at Comilla University and obstructed the government activities on the afternoon of 18 January 2014, following which two cases were filed against him. On 24 April 2015, members of RAB-11 arrested Ilias in possession of a foreign pistol, a magazine, two rounds of bullets, and a motorcycle in Shalbon Bihar area adjacent to Comilla University. An arms case was lodged against him later. A photo showing Ilias holding the arms is still on display on the board at RAB’s Cumilla headquarters. Following the incident, BCL expelled Ilias for lifetime and he was in jail for six months in the arms case.

Regarding this, Ilias Mia told Prothom Alo, “I was framed in the arms case.” And on the intercepting the VC’s vehicle, he said several people got jobs during the tenure of previous VC but the incumbent VC is not listening to him.

There are more allegations against Ilias. People concerned said Ilias and ‘cadres’ went to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall on the night of 31 July 2016 and Md Khalid Saifullah, general secretary of Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall, was killed during the firing. Probe is on in the case over this incident. And Ilias became the president of BCL’s Comilla University unit on 28 May 2017.

Fatema Akter, mother of Khalid Saifullah, told Prothom Alo on Friday night over mobile phone, “I did not get justice over the murder of my son. Instead former VC Emran Kabir Chowdhury appointed the killers of my son in official positions through Illias. If the killers are rehabilitated in such way, from whom will I get justice?”

Regarding the allegation brought about by the mother of Khalid Saifullah, professor Emran Kabir Chowdhury told Prothom Alo over mobile phone on the afternoon of 1 April, “The appointments I gave to the BCL men were done through a circular.”

Wishing anonymity, three teachers of the university said Ilias controls recruitment and tenders single-handedly and even decides which teachers, officials and employees would get various positions. The VC does not hold any event without him. Ilias is involved in everything, from land acquisition for the university’s expanded campus to stealing trees, they added.

The teachers questioned how a person could still be a leader of BCL after committing such huge crimes.

This report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Galib Ashraf and Hasanul Banna