Only a day after being threatened by a local MP, the Rajshahi University VC was again verbally assaulted by a group of Awami League leaders at his office yesterday.
Around 15 men, led by the ruling party’s Rajshahi city unit General Secretary Dablu Sarkar and Vice-President Shahadat Hossain, barged into the office of RU VC Prof Muhammad Mizanuddin around 1pm, witnesses said.
The men were reportedly demanding that their preferred candidates be recruited as employees and officers in different university posts.
However, when the VC said the recruitment process would take place as per the university rules, the ruling party men started hurling abusive words at the VC.
During the incident, the leaders also physically assaulted science faculty Dean Prof Habibur Rahman and RU Student Adviser Prof Sadequl Arefin Matin after the teachers requested the men to calm down, witnesses said.
RU Pro-VC Prof Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan and RU Teacher’s Association President Prof Ananda Kumar Saha – who were both present during the incident – condemned the unruly behaviour by the ruling party men.
When contacted, Dablu admitted that a “tense situation” had occurred when he went to voice some demands to the VC, but denied claims of any verbal or physical abuse.
“A bit of a tense situation was formed when a teacher caught the arm of Shahadat while we were leaving the VC’s office and also after we had gone out of the office,” he also said.
A source in the RU administration said the ruling party and its student wing were pressuring the university to fill up vacant posts with their preferred candidates.
“Just for grabbing a huge amount of money from job aspirants, local Awami League leaders and university unit Chhatra League have long been adamant, and now the issue has become public,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, soon after yesterday’s incident, Chhatra League brought out a procession accusing the university authority of favouring Jamaat-Shibir in the university. Also at a small gathering, Chhatra League’s RU unit President Mizanur Rahman Rana demanded Mizanuddin’s resignation, blaming the VC for not working for Chhatra League.
On the other hand, RU Progressive Student Alliance, RUTA and other students organisations condemned both the incidents from yesterday and Wednesday, and demanded punishment for those responsible.
On Wednesday, Rajshahi 1 lawmaker Omar Faruk Chowdhury allegedly threatened to depose VC Mizanuddin over the university’s fine of Tk25 lakh to Shah Makhdum Medical College for alleged irregularities in admission process.