Several hundred students of Rajshahi University have been demonstrating on the campus this morning protesting what they said sexual harassment of one their fellows at a hall provost’s house on Tuesday night.
The demonstrators brought out a procession from in front of the Central Library around 11:00am and later they took position in front of Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Hall after parading the campus, reports our RU correspondent from the spot.
Around 12:15 pm, the agitators moved towards the administration building and were seen chanting slogan against the incident till filing of this regard around noon.
The protesters demand immediate punishment of Shyamol Banik, 45, the brother of Dr Bithika Banik, who is the provost of Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Hall.
Shyamol was arrested soon after the student filed a case against him with Motihar Police Station.
They also demanded resignation of the provost as “she failed to protect the RU student at her own house”.
Locking down the provost’s office inside the hall, some resident students joined the demonstration bringing several allegations against her, our RU correspondent adds.
RU Proctor Prof Lutfor Rahman visited the protesters in front of the administration building and expressed solidarity with the movement.
The proctor also assured them that the authorities will take immediate action against the hall provost in question.
The first-year female student of Department of English was allegedly sexually abused when she went to the provost and Sanskrit department teacher Dr Bithika Banik’s house for tutoring the latter’s seven grader daughter at the city’s Dharampur area early yesterday, according to the case statement.
In the case statement, the students, also a resident of Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Hall at RU, alleged that Shyamol swooped on her and sexually abused her while she was asleep at Dr Bithika’s house.
