Jagannath University students continued their protest for the second consecutive day on Thursday, holding plastic bottles and chanting the slogan “Bottle-Bottle” as part of their demonstration to press home their demands.
The protest took place in front of the Kakrail Mosque, where students were seen tying bottles to a traffic signal pole.
Around 100 students gathered with bottles in hand, chanting slogans and later stringing together 20–25 bottles, which they used symbolically during their protest.
Hridoy Kumar Roy, a student of the History Department (academic year 2023–24), explained the symbolism: “He (Adviser Mahfuj Alam) left without saying a word, merely because a bottle had been thrown at him. Meanwhile, our teachers and fellow students were injured in a police attack. As a state official, he behaved disrespectfully toward teachers and students. We are protesting his actions by holding bottles and chanting ‘Bottle-Bottle'.”
The incident refers to Wednesday night, when Mahfuj Alam, adviser for the information ministry, arrived at the protest site in front of the Kakrail Mosque to speak with the demonstrating students.
Around 10pm, while standing near a police barricade, a plastic water bottle was thrown in his direction, striking him on the head.
Later, Hossain, a student from the Economics Department (academic year 2023–24), identified himself as the person responsible for the bottle throw.
He said: “The incident was unintentional. I did not deliberately target anyone. I simply tossed the bottle upwards, not intending to harm or insult anyone. I am not affiliated with any student organization... false propaganda is being spread about me.”
The bottle-throwing incident drew sharp criticism from leaders of the National Citizen Party, who labelled the act “deplorable”.
At a press briefing, Mahfuj said: “The hatred they have harbored toward a specific individual for the past eight months and the violent language they display online was manifested here today.”
However, around midnight, Shamsul Arefin, member secretary of the JnU unit of the Chhatra Dal, visited the scene and claimed that the general students and faculty members of the university were not responsible for the bottle-throwing.
He further said: “Adviser Mahfuj has shown personal resentment toward the students of Jagannath University. He appears to be in need of psychological counselling.”