The prime minister has demanded the immediate arrest of participants in a violent clash at Shahjalal University and Science and Technology (SUST) that caused the university to be closed indefinitely.
A bitter internecine battle between factions of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the ruling party’s student body, left one dead and over twenty injured on Thursday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said: “Those who create anarchy on campus, regardless of who they are, must be brought to book. If they had been arrested instantly, without concern for who they were, this criminality could have been brought under control.”
The prime minister issued the directive during a video conference with the Sylhet metropolitan police commissioner yesterday.
When contacted, Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP) Commissioner Md Kamrul Ahsan told the Dhaka Tribune: “I apprised her of the latest developments in the incident that 31 Chhatra League activists had been arrested and four cases filed.”
He said: “You have heard what the prime minister had said. It was her direction to us, nothing else.”
The Sylhet divisional commissioner, who arranged the programme at his conference hall, also spoke.
Deputy Inspector General of Police in Sylhet Md Mizanur Rahman and other high officials were also present.
A police official, on condition of anonymity, said a “zero tolerance” policy had been taken regarding the SUST clash. Police were working hard to arrest the culprits.
One university student was killed and 20 injured during a gunfight on Thursday between two BCL factions of SUST in a turf war over establishing supremacy on campus.
The same night, police picked up 31 BCL activists from different areas of Sylhet city. Students who witnessed the gunfight said followers of SUST BCL unit president, who has long been absent from the campus, entered the university around 10:30am.
They vandalised the library, academic buildings, and the Shah Paran Hall.
The clash erupted as students loyal to Anjan Roy, the vice president, arrived at the scene.
The two factions opened fire on each other and detonated handmade bombs, leaving at least 20 injured.
Following the death of a student, the authorities closed the university indefinitely.