RU administration promises lawsuit over attack on journalists
Photo: Agamir Somoy
The University of Rajshahi (RU) administration said a lawsuit will be filed over the attack on journalists by Monday.
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Md Abdul Alim confirmed the matter. Following the assurance from the administration, journalists working at the university withdrew from their overnight protest program.
However, they demand that the administration must not stop at filing a lawsuit; those involved in the attack must be arrested by 12 pm. The studentship of the accused students must be canceled, initiatives must be taken to revoke the academic certificates of accused individuals who have completed their studies, and accused individuals who are not students of the university must be banned from entering the campus.
Moreover, Mahbub Hossain, general secretary of the Rajshahi University Journalists’ Association, demanded that the administration publish its decisions regarding the lawsuit and the cancellation of the accused students’ studentship on the university website via a press release by Monday night.
He said if the administration fails to implement its commitments, the next course of action will be announced.
Allegations of the attack on journalists on Sunday night were raised against leaders and activists of the university unit of Jatiotabadi Chatradal (JCD). Following the incident, the names of several individuals have emerged, including Vice President Ahsan Habib.
According to witnesses, JCD leaders and activists brought out a procession from the university’s Transport Market around 8 pm and gathered in front of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Hall. They were seen carrying local weapons, including machetes, cleavers, hockey sticks, pipes, and baseball bats.
Upon receiving the news, Proctor Mahbubur Rahman arrived at the scene, prompting them to hide the weapons. Seeing the weapons in their hands, university correspondents from Dainik Samakal and Ajker Patrika moved forward to capture video footage. At that point, Samakal correspondent Mainul Islam Raju was allegedly beaten with a stick.
An attempt was also made to snatch the mobile phone of the Ajker Patrika correspondent. Then, bdnews24.com correspondent Arif Uzzaman Korban was also beaten. As the situation escalated, the proctor moved the journalists inside the hall and locked the door. Hearing news of the assault, more journalists rushed to the spot.
Allegations added that The Daily Star correspondent Nur Ahsan Mridul and Agamir Somoy correspondent Jahidul Islam were then attacked, leaving Jahidul with a fractured head.
Following the incident, university Proctor Mahbubur acknowledged that the administration failed to control the situation. He said, “We are failures. It was not possible for us to control the situation. We called the police. But the police also fled out of fear.”
