Some female students of Jahangirnagar University were heard screaming for life, and a male voice was reciting a verse from the Quran seeking divine blessings. This was the scene after midnight following Sunday when several hundred leaders and activists of the Chhatra League swooped on the agitating students trapped inside the residence of the vice chancellor.
Several students present at the scene livestreamed on Facebook when the Chhatra League members were throwing broken glass bottles and brick chips on them. The attackers, many of whom were wearing helmets to hide their identities, also used sticks to beat up the protesters and set fire at some places using petrol bombs, leaving at least 60 injured.
The students went to meet the VC and teachers at around 9pm, and demand justice for the attack by Chhatra League men at Bottala of the campus at 7:15pm while preparing for a procession. The VC, Prof Md Nurul Alam, met with them at around 10:30pm and assured them of taking action upon an investigation. However, the students did not leave the place and continued to chant slogans.
Quota reform: RU Chhatra League leaders room vandalized, 20 motorcycles torched
Around midnight, the Chhatra League members gathered near the VC’s residence and at one point, started pouncing on the protesters after entering the premises. The VC and other teachers did not open the door of the two-storey building at the time.
Around 2am, some of the journalists and teachers managed to leave the residence, and over 2,000 students from different halls went to the VC’s residence to rescue the injured protesters—thanks to their social media campaigns.
As the students tried to drive the Chhatra League men away, a chase and counter-chase took place, and the police fired stray bullets, tear gas shells, and used water cannons, leaving the teachers and journalists injured. One of the injured, Prof Dr Khandaker Lutful Elahi, was referred to Dhaka from Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar as his right eye was affected by stray bullets.
6 killed as police, Chhatra League fight protestersProf Mafruhi Sattar Titu, who was injured in the clash, told Dhaka Tribune: "The agitating students took a stand on the balcony in front of the VC’s residence. They made shields out of chairs to protect themselves from attacks. When police chased the attackers and fired tear gas canisters, 4-5 teachers were injured. I got a head injury.”
After an emergency Syndicate meeting on Tuesday, the university authorities formed a six-member probe committee to look into the incidents. The meeting also decided to bear the costs of treatment for the injured persons and restrict the entry of outsiders into the campus and residential halls. Moreover, security was strengthened at all gates of the university.
Teachers and agitating students have blamed the VC for his inaction during Sunday’s attacks. The protesters claimed that at around 11:30pm on Sunday, the Chhatra League brought in outsiders on two pickup vans.
Additional Superintendent of Police of Dhaka District Police Abdullahel Kafi said they fired tear gas shells and blank shots when the protesters attacked the police from various corners, leaving 10-15 members injured.
Amid a tense situation, students from at least five nearby educational institutions started gathering at the university gates since the morning on Tuesday to express solidarity with the quota movement. They were seen holding sticks while taking positions in important places on the campus, including the Dairy Gate, Chourangi, Bishmail Gate, and the VC Chattar.
The protesters also pasted a warning notice, which reads: “No entry for Chhatra League.”
Over 1,000 students from different schools and colleges of Savar, including Gono Bishwabidyalay, BPATC School and College, Jahangirnagar University School and College, Savar Model College, and Daffodil University took part in the demonstrations.
The protesters alleged that in the Ambagan area adjacent to the campus, Jamsing and Dhaka-Aricha highway, and Palli Bidyut area of Savar, leaders and activists of Chhatra League were seen gathering armed with machetes, sticks, rods and other indigenous weapons. The JU unit Chhatra League was reportedly assisted by the members of Savar-Ashulia unit Chhatra League and Jubo League.
University Proctor Dr Mohammad Alamgir Kabir said that police were deployed alongside JU security wing staff for the overall security of the campus.
