Ctg Polytechnic Institute closed sine die following JCD-ICS clash
Tuesday, 31 July 2007
CHITTAGONG, July 30 (UNB): Chittagong Polytechnic Institute has been declared closed sine die due to fierce fight that took place among the activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) and Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS).
The residents have also been ordered to vacate all the three halls of the troubled engineering institute by 1pm Monday.
The Academic Council of the institute, headed by its Principal Abdul Maleq, in an urgent meeting Monday morning took the decisions of shutdown and vacating the students’ hostels.
The activists of JCD and ICS, student wings of the immediate-past ruling-party BNP and its coalition-partner Jamaat-e-Islami, fought throu-ghout Sunday night leaving at least 25 students wounded.
Police picked up 25 students from both sides Monday morning following the overnight fighting since 10pm Sunday night.
Under the forced closure, classes will remain suspended but set examinations will "continue as usual", the institute authority said.
"A series of clashes between the supporters of the two groups, lasting seven hours, sent a wave of worry and tension through the city's Nasirabad Industrial Area," the sources said in their eyewitness account of the battle.
The authorities said tensions had been mounting on the campus for the last few days with the two student organisations having been active to get applicants from their respective parties admitted into the institute after the admission of freshers began.
Additional police have been deployed on the campus to avert any untoward incident.
Outraged by the authority's decision, the two parties started blaming each other for their failure to accomplish their evil motives of having their partisan applicants admitted, the sources said.
Police said a scuffle took place between some of the JCD and ICS supporters at about 10pm Thursday that led to violent clashes.
"Belligerent supporters of the two groups, equipped with lethal weapons and firearms, swooped on each other during the seven-hour bloody clashes, which lasted until Monday dawn," according to campus sources.
Later police reinforcements rushed in and brought the situation under control.
During the massive raids, they arrested 25 clash suspects, which happens to be the first major campus violence during the current state of emergency declared in the country in January last amid a grave political turmoil.
Nine of the injured were admitted to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital while seven to different clinics.
The residents have also been ordered to vacate all the three halls of the troubled engineering institute by 1pm Monday.
The Academic Council of the institute, headed by its Principal Abdul Maleq, in an urgent meeting Monday morning took the decisions of shutdown and vacating the students’ hostels.
The activists of JCD and ICS, student wings of the immediate-past ruling-party BNP and its coalition-partner Jamaat-e-Islami, fought throu-ghout Sunday night leaving at least 25 students wounded.
Police picked up 25 students from both sides Monday morning following the overnight fighting since 10pm Sunday night.
Under the forced closure, classes will remain suspended but set examinations will "continue as usual", the institute authority said.
"A series of clashes between the supporters of the two groups, lasting seven hours, sent a wave of worry and tension through the city's Nasirabad Industrial Area," the sources said in their eyewitness account of the battle.
The authorities said tensions had been mounting on the campus for the last few days with the two student organisations having been active to get applicants from their respective parties admitted into the institute after the admission of freshers began.
Additional police have been deployed on the campus to avert any untoward incident.
Outraged by the authority's decision, the two parties started blaming each other for their failure to accomplish their evil motives of having their partisan applicants admitted, the sources said.
Police said a scuffle took place between some of the JCD and ICS supporters at about 10pm Thursday that led to violent clashes.
"Belligerent supporters of the two groups, equipped with lethal weapons and firearms, swooped on each other during the seven-hour bloody clashes, which lasted until Monday dawn," according to campus sources.
Later police reinforcements rushed in and brought the situation under control.
During the massive raids, they arrested 25 clash suspects, which happens to be the first major campus violence during the current state of emergency declared in the country in January last amid a grave political turmoil.
Nine of the injured were admitted to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital while seven to different clinics.