At least 72 students of Jahangirnagar University were injured when police swooped on several hundred angry students yesterday evening as they blocked Dhaka-Aricha highway following the death of a teacher in a road accident.

Acting chairman of English department Kausar Hossain, 39, died in a tragic road accident in front of the University Dairy Farm Gate yesterday morning.

Police lobbed teargas shells, fired rubber bullets and baton-charged students to disperse them and clear the blockade. Police also chased the students and took position around the Teacher Student Centre (TSC) area.

The injured were released after first aid at the university medical centre.

Students alleged that the university proctor Enamullah Parvez was present during the police action in which at least 70 rounds of teargas shells were fired.

The police action continued till writing of this report at 8 p.m. However movement of vehicles on the highway resumed at night.

Witnesses of the accident said a Rajshahi-bound coach of Modern Enterprise, coming on from the wrong side hit Kausar Hossain as he was standing near the road divider to cross the road at 8:25 a.m.

The bus ran him over hitting him on the left side of the head. Two JU students found him lying on the spot in a pool of blood and took him to the university medical centre.

Doctors at the centre then sent him to the Orthopaedic Hospital from where he was sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). But Hossain died immediately after reaching the DMCH at 10:20 a.m.

As the news of his death went round, hundreds of angry students rushed to the University Dairy Farm Gate and damaged a number of vehicles, sources said.

Although teachers along with the proctor of the university tried to restrain the students, they refused to leave the area and blocked traffic at several points on the highway at around 11 a.m., which eventually prompted the police action later in the day.

Meanwhile, hundreds of students, university teachers and officials gathered at the residence of Kausar Hossain as his body was brought in the evening after completion of postmortem at the hospital.

His Namaz-e-Janaza was held at the university at 8:30 p.m. He will be buried at the university graveyard today morning.

Kausar Hossain completed his Honours and Masters from the JU English department and joined the same department as a teacher in 1989.

As a student, Hossain also worked as a correspondent of Bangladesh Times and was elected president of JU Journalists' Association in 1986-87.

He left behind two sons and his wife who is also a teacher of JU School and College.

JU authorities filed a case with the Savar thana in this connection.