A student of Rajshahi University has allegedly been assaulted by some activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) at Madar Bux Hall, for asking them to stop smoking in the television room.
The victim, Shahabuddin Ahmed, is a master’s student in the Bangla department.
He also works for the online news portal BD Morning (www.bdmorning.com) and is also a member of the Rajshahi University Journalist Association (Ruja).
Witnesses said RU BCL Madar Bux Hall unit Vice President Giasuddin Kajol along with two of his fellow activists beat Shahabuddin as objected to his smoking in the television room while watching an IPL match on Sunday night.
“While watching the cricket match, Giasuddin Kajol, a fourth-year student of the History department, started smoking cigarettes, making everyone feel uncomfortable,” alleged Shahabuddin.
Later, Shahabuddin was taken to the university medical centre for primary treatment.
Proctor Prof Ashabul Hoque said: “We will take necessary steps against the accused after an investigation.”
Meanwhile, RU-based journalists staged a sit-in at night in front of the vice chancellor's (VC) residence demanding immediate action against the BCL men and the removal of the Madar Bux Hall provost.
Later, the journalists withdrew their sit-in program at around 2am after the Pro VC Prof Sultan-Ul-Islam assured them of meeting their demands by Monday.
Nuruzzaman Khan, president of Ruja, alleged that he along with his fellow journalists contacted the hall provost several times over the phone, but he did not respond to their call.
“Instead of coming to the hall and taking necessary steps to solve the problem, the hall provost made the journalists wait in front of the hall gates for three hours, and later refused to come down”, Nuruzzaman added.
