Jagannath University students symbolically threw bottles at plastic baskets with pictures of Adviser Mahfuj Alam on them on Friday afternoon at Dhaka’s Kakrail intersection, as part of their ongoing protest demanding a resolution to the housing crisis along with three other demands.
The unusual demonstration began near the Kakrail Mosque, where students placed three plastic baskets on the road adjacent to the Department of Public Health Engineering, each with a picture of Mahfuj Alam.
One by one, over a hundred students took turns throwing bottles at the baskets.
Speaking to reporters, the students said the previous incident of a bottle hitting Mahfuj’s head was unintentional and had already been regretted by their teachers. However, they accused the adviser of using the event to shift attention away from the core issues.
They condemned his alleged arrogance and behavior.
Ismail Hossain from the Law Department said: “Our teachers even apologized for what happened to Mahfuj, but his pride and abuse of power made the situation worse. His behavior needs to change—we strongly denounce it.”
Shawon, a student from the 2019–20 batch of the Anthropology Department, added: “Mahfuj showed sympathy for the police instead of standing with us. That’s why we held today’s symbolic bottle-throwing protest against him."
Since Wednesday, students have been staging a sit-in at the Kakrail intersection toward Jamuna. Current and former students, along with faculty members, continued to gather at the protest site.
Around 50 university buses have been ferrying students in rotation to the demonstration.
The students are demanding:
- Housing stipends for 70% of students starting in the 2025–26 fiscal year
- Approval of the university’s proposed full budget without cuts
- Ecnec approval and swift implementation of the second campus project
- Proper investigation and exemplary punishment for those responsible for the police attack on students on Wednesday
