A North South University (NSU) student was beaten by agitated students and locals in the Bashundhara residential area of the capital in the early hours of Sunday, following allegations of desecrating the Holy Qur’an.
The injured student was rescued in a critical condition and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) by police at around 3:30am.
According to police and university sources, on Saturday morning, the student allegedly desecrated the Muslim holy book inside the campus. When students protested, the university authorities immediately brought the situation under control and expelled the accused from the campus.
However, video footage of the incident later spread on social media, while the accused himself was also alleged to have uploaded a video of desecrating the Qur’an on his Facebook profile. This led to calls for his arrest.
In response, around 1am, students and locals gathered in front of the accused’s residence in the Bashundhara residential area and staged a protest. When police tried to detain him and take him to the police station, the crowd attacked him. He was then taken to DMCH by the police.
Police confirmed that the student was detained and admitted to the hospital for treatment, and that legal action against him is underway.
Earlier, around 2:15am, Vatara police station Officer-in-Charge Rakibul Hasan told Dhaka Tribune: “When we went to detain the accused after receiving the information, the students and locals also became agitated with us.”
