RU: Ammar and Shibir leaders storm into central library to beat students

A female student of the Sanskrit Department at Rajshahi University (RU) has alleged that she received threats after turning down a romantic proposal. She filed a complaint against a senior student from her own department.

In response, Proctor Professor Mahbubor Rahman convened a meeting with the accused student. Also present at the meeting were Anas (a student of the 2017-18 batch of the Department of Islamic History and Culture), Hasib (from the same department), Mahmudul Hasan (from the Sanskrit Department), and several others.

Later, RU Central Students' Union (Rakshu) GS Salahuddin Ammar, AGS S M Salman Sabbir, and other Rakshu leaders alleged that Anas was a Chhatra League activist. They then checked Anas's mobile phone and found photos of him with several leaders, including the banned Chhatra League's general secretary Asadullah Hil Galib, as well as communication records with Chhatra League on various messaging platforms. Subsequently, GS Ammar and AGS Salman Sabbir beat Anas inside the proctor's office.

The proctor temporarily resolved the matter around noon, and Anas and the others left the proctor's office.

Later, around 3 PM, Anas, Hasib, Mahmudul, and a few others went to the RUCSU building over the incident and got involved in an altercation with the RUCSU leaders present. At one point, a scuffle broke out, and BM Nazmus Sakib, the Rakshu's Information and Research Affairs Secretary, struck them with a pipe, injuring them. Anas and the others then left the RUCSU building, passed through the transport chattar, and came in front of the reading room of the central library.

Soon after, RUCSU GS Ammar, AGS Salman Sabbir, Debate and Literature Secretary Imran Laskar, injured BM Nazmus Sakib, Co-Information and Research Secretary Sifat Abu Saleh, Shibir branch secretary Mehedi Hasan, Publicity and Media Secretary Mehedi Sojib, Office Secretary Manajir Ahsan, Finance Secretary Shamim Patwari, university senate member and campus monitoring coordinator of the Shibir branch Fazle Rabbi Mohammad Fahim Reza, Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Hall Union GS Ariful Islam, Shaheed Habibur Rahman Hall Union VP Ahsanullah Farhan, GS Ashik Sikder, Nawab Abdul Latif Hall GS Nurul Islam Shaheed, Shibir cadre and re-admitted student Ramadan Ali, and others arrived.

Rakshu GS Ammar started hurling obscene abuses from a distance. The students in front of the library also responded with counter-abuses. At one point, Salahuddin Ammar began throwing bricks and stones. At that time, Proctor Mahbubur Rahman took them inside the reading room from in front of the central library. Later, the RUCSU and Shibir leaders pushed the proctor aside and stormed into the reading room. They attacked students present there with bamboo sticks, kicks, and iron rods. When other library students came forward to resist the attack, the agitated Shibir and Rakshu leaders also attacked them.

The injured students were kept in the reading room, and the Shibir and Rakshu leaders were brought out of the reading room by the proctorial body, police members, and library students.

Shortly afterwards, Assistant Proctor Professor Gias Uddin and several senior professors tried to take the seriously injured Mahmudul Hasan through an inner gate to the main entrance and then via an ambulance. However, Fahim Reza and Shibir cadre Ramadan Ali dragged him out of the ambulance and attacked him once more. He was later taken to the medical center by ambulance with the help of police and the proctorial body.