Fear of insecurity haunts the common students of the Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) with the rise in outsider movement on the campus.
Students alleged that outsiders had long been committing crimes on the campus taking advantage of lax monitoring attitude by the university administration.
Police sources, National Security Intelligence, and general students said outsiders were staying in almost all the male dormitories of the university.
Outsiders are involved in various anti-social activities, including the trading of illegal drugs and arms and trespassing on the campus, said sources who preferred to be unnamed.
Students said they often found strangers gathered at the Jobber intersection, KR market, on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra River, the university first gate and many other areas on the campus.
Student leaders belong to the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) are seen accompanying the outsiders, they said.
Unwilling to be named, some female students alleged that they frequently fell victim to teasing by outsiders and BCL activists while moving about the campus.
“Although we face harassment by the outsiders, we cannot protest as political leaders support them, said a female student. BCL President of BAU unit Md Mursheduzzaman Khan Babu denied the allegation of backing outsiders. He said “BCL is not involved in backing any outsiders on the campus.”
When contacted, Convener of BAU Provost Council Prof Dr Abdul Momen Miah refuted the allegation.
He said: “We never allow any non-student to stay in the halls,” said Dr Momen Miah.”
He, however, confessed to this correspondent that they had heard of outsiders staying in the dormitories.
“If we get solid information about outsiders residing illegally in the dormitories, The university administration will take necessary action against the offenders.”
Meanwhile, some unidentified miscreants fired at least five round bullets in front of the Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Hall in the early hours of yesterday. They also tried to enter the hall by breaking the main gate, but to no avail as campus patrolling police reached the spot, said eyewitnesses.
BAU Proctor Prof Dr Md Harun-ur Rashid said, “We are trying to ensure security of the common students on the campus.”
He also suggested that students should not maintain links with outsiders for the sake of the overall security of the campus.
