BUET students ‘temporarily suspend’ protest over Chhatra League gathering

Students at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology protesting against Chhatra League leaders entering the campus have ‘suspended’ their demonstrations on the third day.

Students did not take up positions on the campus as they had on Friday and Saturday, but they did not attend classes or exams either, according to their prior announcement.

The protesters say they will announce the details of their decision later on in the day, reports bdnews24.com.

One of the students leading the protest said, “Our protest has been temporarily suspended. At 4pm yesterday [Saturday], we spoke to the VC. We have a meeting with him today as well. There may be an overall briefing after the meeting ends.”

Student politics was banned on the BUET campus in 2019 after a student movement against the death of Abrar Fahad, who was beaten to death. But, late on Thursday night, the central president and office secretary of the Chhatra League entered the campus for a gathering.

Student protesters say Imtiaz Hossain Rahim, a student of the 21st batch at the civil engineering department and member of the central Chhatra League committee, organised the event.

The BUET administration scrapped Imtiaz’s hall seat, however, protesters are continuing to demand his expulsion as well as those of several others involved in the gathering for breach of university rules.

They say they have identified five others involved from photos and video of the event and have called on university authorities to identify and take action against other students involved.

BUET Vice Chancellor Satya Prasad Majumder says a six-member special committee has been formed to probe the incident. They are to launch their investigation on Saturday and have until Apr 8 to file a report.

The disciplinary board can meet to decide on Imtiaz’s expulsion once the report has been filed.

Students are boycotting all academic activities, including term finals on Mar 30 and Mar 31 to protest the incident.

Students have also continued to push for the resignation of Prof Mizanur Rahman, the director of the Department of Student Welfare over the unauthorised entry to campus by outsiders. However, VC Majumder hinted that the administration would not heed the demand.

Meanwhile, the Chhatra League held demonstrations and gatherings at Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka to protest Imtiaz’s suspension.