A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against four teachers and 15 students of Dhaka University for breaching emergency power rules (EPR) and a Rajshahi court today will deliver verdict in a case against two Rajshahi University teachers and 12 others for torching a vehicle of the DGFI.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Golam Rabbani framed the charges against the Dhaka University (DU) teachers and students.
He rejected the discharge petitions of the defence lawyers of the four DU teachers and a siudent now in jail custody.
The court fixed December 17 for the trial of the case at a time when the government assured the teachers on Saturday of releasing the detainees in two weeks.
Il summoned the complainant and other witnesses to appear before the court on the scheduled date for giving their statements.
Law- Adviser Mainul Hosein, however, said there is no justification in the teachers' demand for unconditional release of the accused before conviction.
Hearing about tire framing of charges, DU teachers, who had suspended their protest programmes on Sunday for two weeks following assurance from the government, expressed frustration.
The case was filed against some 6,000 unnamed students, teachers and outsiders for vandalising public and private properties, obstructing the work of the police, and pelting the law enforcers with stones on DU campus on August 22.
CHARGE-FRAMING
Dhaka University Teachers' Association (Duta) President Prof Sadnil Amin, General Secretary Prof Anwar Hossain, Science Faculty Dean Prof Harun-or-Rashid, Applied Physics Department Chairman Prof Neem Chandra Bhowmik and student Moniruzzaman were brought to the court at 11:30am under tight security for the hearing on their discharge petitions.
Moving the petitions, the defence lawyers argued that their clients were implicated in the case as part of a conspiracy to harass them and that their names were not included in the first information report (FIR) and were included in the charge sheet later.
In no way could a university teacher dedicated to moulding the students into nation-builders commit die offences mentioned in the case. So, the teachers and others should be cleared of the charges, the lawyers added.
Prof Harun told the court that he was at his office when die incident took place. He tried his best to defuse the situation but to no avail.
The prosecution opposed the arguments made by die defence lawyers and prayed for framing charges against the accused.
After hearing both the sides, die court rejected the discharge petitions of the defence and framed charges against the four teachers and 15 students.
After the magistrate read out the charges against them, the DU teachers and student present in the court pleaded not guilty and demanded justice.
Charges were framed against 14 students in their absence and they will be tried in absentia. The court issued warrants of arrest against the absconding students.
They are DU unit Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) President Hasan Mamun and General Secretary Saiful Islam Firoz, JCD leader Kamrul Hasan Kochi, acting JCD President of Shamsunnahar Hall unit Tanjeen Chowdhury Lili, JCD President of Rokeya Hall unit Shahinoor Nargis, Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) DU unitVice President Aparna Rani Pal, Rifat Hossain Jiku, Nazrul Islam Russell, Shamsul Kabir Rahat, Mitul, Aziz Hasan, Rokonuzzaman, Kamruzzaman and Anwar Hossain.
Police pressed charges against the accused on September 9 for instigating violence on the universitycampus and at Shahbagh in the capital on August 22 and 23.
The charges said the accused endorsed processions, chanted slogans and the unruly students went on a rampage on and around the campus between 10:00am and 4:00pm that day. They also took position at different points and made statements seeking to incitestudents and outsiders to tear into the army post at the DU gymnasium.
Provoked, die unruly mob set fire to tyres and other flammable objects, barricaded the roads and damaged public properties. They also threw projectiles at the policemen on duty.
Additional police forces were deployed yesterday on the court premises to avoid any untoward incident.
Advocates Syed Rezaur Rahman, Sahara Khatun, Porimal Chandra Guha, Khondaker Abdul Mannan and Masud Ahmed Talukder defended the accused. VERDICT ON TORCHING THE DGFIVEHICLE
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ruhul Amin of a speedy trial court of Rajshahi is expected to deliver the verdict today in presence of the four accused, reports our Rajshahi correspondent.
The case was filed against two teachers, two employees and 10 students of RU in connection with torching a vehicle and assaulting a staff of the DGFI on August 22.
The accused include Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan Sajal and Sabbir Sattar Tapu of geology and mining department, RU Deputy Chief Information Officer Sadekul Islam and former vice-chahcellor Falsul Islam Faruki’s driver Ataur Rahman. The accused students have been absconding. On November 27, the court fixed December 6 for delivering the verdict but it deferred the date saying the judgment was not yet complete.
Shawkat All, an assistant director of Rajshahi DGFI, lodged the case on August 23 accusing two teachers and four students. On September I, Sub-Inspector Mukhtar Hossain implicated eight others in the charge sheet.
The plaintiff alleged that he was assaulted and his state-owned vehicle was torched during the violence. Fie said the two teachers ordered and abetted unruly students over mobile phones to set fire to the vehicle.
The absconding accused are Bangladesh Chhatra League RU unit Secretary Ayenuddin, Dipayan Sarkar, Mizanur Rahman Mithu, Sardar Ayaz, SM Fakrul Islam Raihan, Abu Sayem, Shamim Ahmed, Kazi A Latif, Shakhawat Hossain and Aziz Bin Kamal.
Earlier on December 4. a Rajshahi court sentenced four RU teachers to two years' rigorous imprisonment for breaching the EPR and acquitted two others of the charge.
The government freed the four convicted teachers from prison on Monday following presidential clemency.