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Kuet shut after daylong violence

BCL activists attack students for protesting over substandard food at feast; teachers, cops, students among 25 hurt; VC's residence attacked

Star Report
Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (Kuet) was shut down indefinitely yesterday after Bangladesh Chhatra League activists attacked students protesting sub-standard food at an annual feast on the campus.
At least 25 students were injured in the attack as the cadres of BCL, a pro-Awami League student body, swooped on them at a dormitory with machetes, hammers, chains and bamboo sticks at around 1:00pm, witnesses said.
Incensed over the BCL onslaught, students later laid siege to the residence of Vice Chancellor Prof Muhammed Alamgir and broke glass panes of his house and the administrative building.
Police rushed to the scene and charged batons on the agitating students, who responded by throwing bricks at them. At one stage, the students vandalised two cars and the guardroom, and also hurled bricks at the VC's house, injuring the VC's wife and daughter.
Five teachers and a police officer, who went to placate the agitating students, were also injured.
Following the incidents, the university authorities ordered resident students to vacate all the six dormitories by 6:00pm as a measure of averting further violence.
Our staff correspondent, Khulna, reports that all the halls were vacated by 9:30pm and a huge contingent of police was deployed on the campus.
The injured police officer is Mostafa Kamal, deputy commissioner of Khulna Metropolitan Police, while the teachers are Director of Student Welfare Affairs Prof Shibendra Shekhar Shikder, Rafiqul Islam and Elias Inam Koel of the electrical engineering department and Md Masud and Abdur Noor Tushar of the mechanical department.
Eight of the injured were undergoing treatment at Khulna Medical College Hospital.
The troubles were sparked off at midnight on Sunday when students of Amar Ekushey Hall protested over the distribution of low quality food at the annual feast on the day, campus sources said.
At this, members of the feast organising committee, all leaders and workers of BCL, swooped on the students with lethal weapons and brickbats. They beat up several students for raising their voices against the food.
Students said they had each paid Tk 885 for the feast but they were served very low quality food.
The aggrieved students tried to raise the issue with the hall provost that night but the BCL cadres waylaid them and foiled their attempt. The students then chased the BCL men out of the hall and locked all of its gates.
The situation calmed down when the VC went to the dormitory at around 3:00am yesterday and made a written pledge to take action against the members of the feast organising committee within 24 hours. He also assured them of taking full responsibility should any student be attacked by the BCL activists.
But the BCL cadres backed by outsiders entered the Amar Ekushey Hall around 1:00pm yesterday and beat up the students indiscriminately for half an hour, sources said.
The attackers, lead by BCL cadres Abir, Kajal, Arin, Himu, Jubayer, Sumon, Mukul, Nihar, Nayan and Sohan, ransacked a number of rooms of the hall and kept all its entry points locked from inside, sources added.
The students alleged that police had looked on as the BCL men continued to assault their classmates.
Humayun Kabir, officer-in-charge of Khanjahan Ali Police Station, said late last night the police were preparing to file a case in this connection.
Contacted, BCL President Badiuzzaman Shohag told The Daily Star last night that his organisation had no committee at Kuet. Therefore, responsibility for the violence did not fall on it.
He added that he had information that the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami student bodies, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Island Chhatra Shibir, under the banner of general students had caused the violence.