CU tense: 3 BCL groups at loggerheads over control of hall

Tension gripped the Chittagong University (CU) campus with three factions of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) trying to gain control of a dormitory that has just been reopened. Islami Chhatra Shibir’s ultimatum regarding the allotment of hall seats to ‘legitimate’ students fuelled the tension. In the face of the ultimatum, the three rival groups of the BCL, the ruling party’s student wing, urged their leaders and activists to remain united but persisted with their efforts to seize control of Hazrat Shah Amanat (R) Residential Hall. The hall was opened on Wednesday morning, 10 months after it was closed following the murder of a person in a BCL-Shibir clash. While one BCL group known as CFC occupied the hall around 12noon, another, called VX, tried to dislodge the other. Police arrived soon and took control of the situation. Hathazari Police Station OC Ismail Hossain said additional forces were deployed on the campus on Wednesday night. The CU had often been tensed over the past three years because of the BCL’s internal conflict, according to a news agency.