A former chairman of Dhaka University’s theatre department – Saiful Islam – has been fired, after an investigation found him guilty of attempting to sexually assault a student.
The DU syndicate made the decision at its meeting yesterday. Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique said the decision was reached as a DU probe committee found allegations against Saiful to be true.
The accusations first surfaced last year when a seventh-semester female student of the theatre and performance studies department claimed that the then chairman of the department tried to sexually assault her.
According to the allegations, Saiful had been repeatedly phoning the student since September 8 last year, asking her to meet him to consult about improving her results. The student, suspicious of the teacher’s motive, informed another teacher of the department – Wahida Mallick – about the phone calls.
Meanwhile, as the teacher kept on phoning her, the student went to the official residence of Saiful on the DU campus on September 13. However, still suspicious of the teacher’s intention, she turned on the audio recorder on her phone before entering the house.
At one point during the meeting, Saiful tried to sexually assault the student; but she managed to escape without any major harm.
On September 15, enraged students of the department barricaded Saiful in a classroom when they found out about the teacher’s offence after listening to the recorded audio of the incident.
They also submitted a complaint letter and a CD containing the audio recording to the VC and the proctor of the university, demanding immediate punitive measures against the accused.
In face of the students’ agitation, Saiful submitted a resignation letter to the university registrar and asked for a fair probe.
Following an emergency meeting on the same day, the DU syndicate decided to temporarily suspend Saiful and asked him to explain within 10 days why he should not be permanently sacked.
In the aftermath of the incidents, Saiful Islam denied the allegations, telling the Dhaka Tribune at the time that the accusations were part of a conspiracy against him.
