After Kabi Sufia Kamal Hall authorities at Dhaka University (DU) forced four female students out of their dormitory Thursday midnight “for their alleged involvement in spreading rumours," DU Vice-Chancellor Prof Md Akhtaruzzaman has claimed that the students were not evicted from the hall, but were handed over to their respective guardians.
“The students were not driven out of the dormitory; rather, they were handed over to their guardians,” he claimed on Friday, dismissing the midnight incident as a rumour and also backing the authorities’ move.
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Asked why the students had to leave their dormitory, Akhtaruzzaman said: “We are looking into the matter. We will clarify the reasons should we be able to learn them.”
The hall authorities drove them out reportedly in the name of an investigation into alleged assaults by Chhatra League leader Iffat Jahan Isha on students who held demonstrations, seeking reforms to the existing quota scheme in government jobs.
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Adding to the claim was the dormitory’s provost, Sabita Rezwana Rahman, who said: “Guardians of the students willingly took them home. They were not evicted at midnight as reported."
“Checking student phones, we identified those who spread the fake news on April 10 that Isha had cut the tendons of a demonstrator on that day. We called in their guardians and showed them video clips substantiating the allegations against the four.”
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Echoing Akhtaruzzaman and Sabita, DU Proctor Dr AKM Golam Rabbani said: “The allegation that four female students were forced out of their dorm is not true. Their parents took them home. We don’t know anything else."
“The hall authorities should explain the reason behind this move,” said Dr Rabbani.This article was first published on banglatribune.com