Sufia Kamal hall provost claims evicted students have returned

Dhaka University's Sufia Kamal Hall authorities are saying students evicted from the female dorm in the middle of the night have returned and there are no restrictions on their staying at the hall. However, it could not be verified that the students had returned to their rooms. Three students identified during the eviction remained unreachable on phone throughout Friday and Saturday and students from within the hall confirmed their presence. One was reportedly seen at a football match. Several students from Sufia Kamal hall later said they had seen her in her room. Sufia Kamal Hall Provost Prof Sabita Rezwana Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune last evening that the students' seats were not cancelled and they were not evicted from the hall. “Two of them are playing football for the hall team. Around 1:30pm they came to the hall with their guardians and took part in the inter-hall football tournament.” “They also attended the general meeting of the hall held on Friday evening. All three are staying in the hall now," Prof Sabita added. Four students were seen getting out of the Sufia Kamal Hall at midnight on Thursday with their guardians. The provost said at the time that these students were found to be involved in spreading false news during the incidents of April 11 at the hall. "We called the guardians of four students around 3pm Thursday and handed them over to their local guardians,” Provost Sabita said yesterday. “Except for one whose father came late at night. He wanted to take his daughter but we said no,” she said. The provost's statement ran contrary to that of Md Faruk Hawlader, father of physics department student Rimi, who told journalists outside the hall around 1am Friday that the hall authorities had called him to say his daughter will not be allowed to stay in the hall. Then he came out alone, saying: “They are forgiving my daughter for the last time and said if she joins any kind of movement again, they will throw her out.” Provost Sabita also told the Dhaka Tribune: "After listening to everything that happened, the guardians wanted to take their girls out for counselling. They submitted written applications and took the girls with them.” Asked if they had found anything incriminating by checking the girls' mobile phones, the provost said: “We don't want to expose that information as it is sensitive. We just notified the guardians and we do not want to reveal their names.”