Bangladesh’s Chittagong University closed after 100 injured in clash

Xinhua

August 03, 2010

The Bangladesh’s Chittagong University (CU) was closed in the country’s second largest city Chittagong, 242 km southeast of capital Dhaka, Monday till Sept. 15 following fierce clashes between law enforcers and striking students on the campus.

The university authority at an emergency meeting decided to close the university and asked the male residential students to vacate their dormitories by Monday, and female students by 10:00 a. m. local time on Tuesday, private news agency UNB reported.

At least 100 persons, including 2 police personnel and a journalist, were injured in a series of clashes between police and the striking students on CU campus for four hours Monday morning.

Police charged batons and fired at least fifty tear gas shells to disperse the students.

The law enforcers rounded up at least 70 students after raiding three male dormitories.

A section of the CU students have been protesting since July 26 pressing their three-point demand including cancellation of fee hike.

Thousands of students brought out processions in front of the university’s administrative building and the vice-chancellor’s office.

Agitating students ransacked almost all faculty buildings, administrative building and IT building and put the science, arts, business studies and social science faculties under lock and key Monday, according to UNB.

The agitating students later damaged at least ten vehicles, including the car of the pro-vice chancellor.

Additional police and Rapid Action Battalion personnel were deployed on the campus to avert any untoward incidents.

CU shut after 8 days of clashes

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

70 injured in student-cop clashes during protests against fee hike

The authorities yesterday closed the Chittagong University till September 16 following a series of violent clashes between agitating students and police that left over 50 students and 20 policemen injured.

Police detained around 50 students during clashes in the morning and held 200 more after raiding three male dormitories in the afternoon.

The CU syndicate in an hour-long meeting that started around 3:00pm took the decision of closing the university in the wake of the violent situation, said CU Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Abu Yusuf.

Male students were asked to vacate their dormitories by 6:00pm yesterday and female students by 10:00am today, he said.

A three-member committee headed by Law Faculty Dean Prof Zakir Hossain was also formed to probe yesterday’s violence, the VC said.

Earlier in the morning, over 1,500 students brought out a procession from Chittagong University Central Students’ Union (CUCSU) building around 10.00am to continue their protest for the eighth consecutive day to press home their three-point demand including cancellation of fee-hike.

As police intercepted the procession near Arts Faculty the agitating students were locked in a clash with them.

At least 15 students, including a journalist were injured as police charged batons on the demonstrating students. The journalist identified as Rajib Nandi, university correspondent of the daily Kaler Kantho, was wounded during the police raid.

The aggrieved students in different groups then went on the rampage at CUCSU building and different faculty buildings protesting the police attack.

They, however, blamed a section of students for the vandalism.

Tobarak Hossain, a student, said, « Some students started vandalism all of a sudden ignoring our request. »

Samajtantrik Chhatra Front CU unit president Probal Mazumder said they requested the students not to involve in vandalism but they ignored the request.

The clash took a violent turn when police lobbed tear shells and fired rubber bullets on them near Arts Faculty around 11:00pm prompting the students to retaliate with stones and brickbats.

Police hurled tear shells and fired rubber bullets to disperse another group of agitating students near Shaheed Minar around 12:00 noon.

The law enforcers also fired rubber bullets and teargas shells inside Shamsunnahar Hall where the students took shelter as police went on a counter offensive.

Protesting the police attack, around 1,000 female students from Shamsunnahar and Pritilata Halls brought out a procession around 1:30pm. As the procession reached near Shaheed Minar, police charged batons to disperse them injuring around 50 female students.

Prosenjit, another student, claimed that at least 200 students were injured in yesterday’s series of clashes and many of them were rubber bullet-hit.

The situation came under control at about 3:00pm as the students started leaving the campus.

Officer-in-Charge Mohiuddin Selim of Hathazari Police Station said around 250 rounds of rubber bullets were fired and over 60 tear-gas canisters were lobbed to bring the situation under control.

At least 20 policemen including him and ASP of Hathazari circle Babul Akhter were injured by stones thrown at them, the OC said adding that they detained around 50 students from different spots of the campus during the clash.

Police raided Shahjalal Hall, Shah Amanat Hall and Suhrawardi Hall around 4:00pm and picked over 200 students from there, he added.

INCREASED FEES
The decision of fee hike was proposed at the 298th meeting of the university finance committee, which was later approved at the 459th syndicate meeting on May 22 this year.

According to the syndicate decision, the increased fees were made effective from July 1 this year.

Admission fees in the first year were increased to Tk 4,100 from Tk 3,420 for Science Faculty and Tk 3,200 from Tk 3,030 for the Arts, Commerce, Social Science and Law Faculties, according to the sources in CU.

Tuition fees for second, third and fourth year non-resident students were increased to Tk 2,230 from Tk 1,327 for Science Faculty (except Mathematics Department) and Tk 2,170 from Tk 1,327 for other faculties while for Masters classes Tk 3,115 from Tk 2,186 for science faculty and Tk 2,655 from Tk 1,796 for other faculties.

Tuition fees for second, third and fourth year resident students were increased to Tk 2,740 from Tk 1,911 for Science Faculty (except Mathematics Department) and Tk 2,680 from Tk 1,851 for other faculties.

Meanwhile, fees for improvement examination were increased to highest Tk 600 from highest Tk 180.

The students claimed that the departments are realising more money from them without giving any receipt.

Asked, Vice Chancellor Prof Yusuf said the departments collect money for different purposes like excursion, and those are not included in tuition fees.

The hiked fees are in no way beyond the affordability of the students, he claimed.

“We increased the fees for improvement examination in order to make the students class and examination-bound,” he added.

Violence forces CU shut

bdnews24.com

Chittagong, Aug 2

— Chittagong University has been announced shut from Aug 3 to Sep 16 in the wake of the violent demonstrations by students for eight straight days.

The decision came from a meeting of syndicate and disciplinary committee on Monday.

Syndicate member Mohammed Tofzzol confirmed bdnews24.com about the decision. « The male students have been asked to leave the residential halls by 6pm [Monday] and the female students by 10am [Tuesday]. »

He also said that the closure includes Ramadan and Eid vacations.

The students had peacefully demonstrated for six days since July 26, but their demonstration turned violent with clashes with the law-enforcers since Sunday as the police tried to quell the protest.

The students have been demanding the withdrawal of increased fees and the suspension order against a student, and an end to actions against the protests.

At 3pm, vice-chancellor Abu Yusuf rushed a meeting with the syndicate and disciplinary committee which ended at around 4:30pm. The authorities started announcing the closure through loudspeakers from 4.40pm.

The police conducted an emergency raid, from 3pm, at the Suhrawardy Hall and detained more than 100 students.

Hathazari circle assistant police commissioner Babul Akther told bdnews24.com: « We conducted an emergency raid at Suhrawardy Hall following the decision of the university authorities. More than 100 students were arrested during the raid. »

The police charged baton and fired rubber bullets at the students when they tried to block accesses to and from the university in the morning. The students locked the science, arts, business studies, and social science faculty buildings at around 11am.

Thousands of students took out processions in front of the university’s administrative building, the vice-chancellor’s office and at the Shaheed Minar.

The clash between the students and the police took place when the police baton-charged the students at the Shaheed Minar and fired rubber bullets. At least 15 students were injured in the clash.

The students reportedly vandalised the Agrani Bank campus branch, the science and arts faculties, the administrative building, the vice-chancellor’s office and the arts faculty building. Later the students lit fires on the roads to create a blockade.

Chittagong University assistant proctor Chandan Kumar Poddar told bdnews24.com: « The students are agitating and vandalising properties on the campus with sticks, rods and brickbats. The situation has spun out of control. »

« Additional police and RAB personnel are being deployed on the campus. Stricter precautions will be taken to prevent further damage, » he said.

The assistant proctor claimed that the rampaging students were supporters of the Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student body of the Jamaat-e-Islami.

President of the university Chhatra Front Probal Majumdar claimed that the student were only commemorating a peaceful programme, but « the vice-chancellor is trying to thwart our programme by attacking us with his ‘forces’. »

On Sunday, the police detained 25 students during a road blockade but released 13. The university administration filed a case with Hathazari Police Station charging 36 students with creating unrest.

CU closed after 8 days of clashes

thedailystar.net

Monday, August 2, 2010

The authorities on Monday closed the Chittagong University till September 16 following eight days of clashes between the students and police that left scores of people injured.

The CU syndicate in an emergency afternoon meeting with its vice-chancellor in the chair made the closure decision, a syndicate member, Assistant Prof AKM Tafzal Haque, told The Daily Star on his cell phone.

The authorities asked male students to vacate their dormitories by 6:00pm on Monday and female students by 10:00am on Tuesday, reports our staff correspondent in Chittagong.

Earlier Monday morning, at least 15 people were injured as police charged batons on students demonstrating for the eighth consecutive day to press home their three-point demand including cancellation of fee hike.

A CU correspondent of a Dhaka-based daily newspaper was among the injured.

The two other demands are withdrawal of a case filed Tuesday against 11 CU students and cancellation of an expulsion order against another.

Witnesses said police barred a rally brought out by a group of students on the campus at about 10:00am to press home their demands.

At one stage, the law enforcers charged truncheons on the demonstrators to disperse them, leaving 15 injured.

The angry students vandalised the windowpanes of Arts building and CUCSU building.

Police also used teargas to break up the demonstrations, prompting chase and counter-chase between the sides.

~ par Alain Bertho sur 3 août 2010.

Publié dans riots