Over the past few decades, politics-related deaths have stained the reputation of Chittagong University – which is known to many as a den of Jamaat-Shibir activists.
Since 1988, at least 19 Chittagong University students have been killed in alleged political violence; none of those cases have seen justice being delivered.
The latest victim was Tapos Sarkar, a first year Sangskrit student, who was shot and killed on December 14 last year during an infighting between CU Chhatra League factions.
In a routine-like manner, the death prompted the formation of a probe body in the face of public outrage; but also like clockwork, the recommendations of the investigators are never implemented.
University officials, who had been involved with the investigations of previous student deaths, blamed political intervention and the lack of evidence and witnesses as some of the reasons why there was no success in serving justice to the perpetrators.
Sources at the university said most of the student killings had been committed by activists of Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir; but factional clashes of Chhatra League had also triggered violent clashes that led to student fatalities.
Khan Tawhid Osman, director of CU Students Counselling Centre and a soil sciences department teacher, said: “The probe committee’s work is figuring out the facts behind the incident, but [in most cases] evidence and witnesses cannot be found during investigation.”
The first notable violence on the CU campus took place in 1983. Although no one died, the wrist of a Chhatra Samaj activist – Hamid – was chopped off allegedly by Shibir men.
The first fatality took place in 1988, when a second-year statistics student – Aminul Islam – was killed allegedly by Shibir supporters.
On December 23, 1990, Shibir men attacked a jubilation procession – brought out to celebrate the fall of Ershad’s regime – killing Chhatra Maitri leader Farukkuzaman Faruk. The same attack also injured former CU vice-chancellor Prof Mohammed Sirajuddin and others.
The next victim of Shibir violence was CU Chhatra Dal organising secretary Nurul Huda Musha, son of CU history Prof Enamul Haque, who died 13 days after receiving serious wounds from a Shibir attack on October 27, 1994.
In 1997, Shibir men attacked and killed CU aspirant Aminul Islam Bokul – suspecting him to be a Chhatra League supporter.
The month of May in 1998 was one of the deadliest in CU history.
On May 6, 1998, another CU aspirant – Ayub Ali – was murdered allegedly by Shibir men at Shah Amanat Hall during a clash between Chhatra League and Jamaat’s student wing. Following their deaths, both Shibir and Chhatra League claimed that Bokul and Ayub belonged to their parties.
Only 12 days after the death of Ayub, Shibir cadres shot dead Musfiq Salehin, a medical student and son of CU teacher Ahmed Nobi, during an attack on a teachers-students’ bus at the Baluchara area in Chittagong.
Besides, on May 15, Shibir leader Jubayer was killed in an attack allegedly by the Chhatra League; on May 24, Chhatra League cadre Saifur Rahman accidentally shot himself in the chest while fixing a firearm in his room at the Shah Amanat Hall.
In August, Sanjay Talapatra, a fine arts student and Chhatra Union activist, died following a brutal attack by Shibir men in the city’s Battali Railway Station area.
Two more Shibir leaders – Rahimuddin and Mahmudul Hasan – died in an alleged Chhatra League attack on the campus.
There was a lull in the violence afterwards, which eventually broke in 2001 when CU Chhatra League’s senior vice-president Ali Mortuza was gunned down at Chararkul area near his residence allegedly by Shibir cadres.
The next fatality was in February 10, 2010, when BBA student Mohiuddin Masum was murdered by unknown miscreants at Sholoshahar Railway Station area, while police recovered the slaughtered body of Harunor Rahid beside the university’s railway track on March 29 at Fateyabad area under Hathazari upazila.
On April 15 the same year, Chhatra League activist Asadul Islam was killed by local villagers at CU Railway Station area during Pahala Baishakh programmes on the campus.
On February 8, 2012, two Shibir men – Masud Bin Habib and Mujahid – were killed during a clash between the Chhatra League and Shibir over establishing supremacy at the campus.
On January 12 last year, Mamun Hossain, a fourth-year soil science student, was hacked to death allegedly by Chhatra League men during a clash inside the Shah Amanat Hall.