Kuet suspends academic activities until Feb 28

KHULNA, Feb 19 (Agencies): Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (Kuet) authorities on Wednesday suspended academic activities until February 28 amid growing tensions between two groups of students over the demand for banning student politics on its campus.
The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the university Syndicate, with Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Masud in the chair, officials said.
Tensions mounted on the campus on Wednesday morning, a day after clashes ensued between 'general students' and BNP's student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) over the demand for banning student politics.
The authorities of Kuet said that the ban on politics at university remains in effect as per a previous decision.
Besides, five decisions have been made, including the formation of a four-member investigation committee, to identify those responsible for the recent clash on the campus.
The authorities also decided to expel the students involved in Tuesday's attack, file cases against outsiders, bear the medical expenses of the injured and ensure the safety of students.
Five people were detained in connection with the clashes on Tuesday night, but no case has been filed against them, according to Md Nazmul Hasan Rajeeb, additional deputy commissioner (north) of Khulna Metropolitan Police.
Meanwhile, the Chhatra Dal's Kuet unit held an emergency press conference at the Khulna Press Club on Wednesday afternoon regarding the situation on the university campus.
Chhatra Dal's leader Abu Afsan reading out a statement said, "Chhatra Dal is not involved in the attack on students. We are also demanding the punishment of those involved in the attack."
Meanwhile, a Jubo Dal leader has been expelled by the organisation after a photo of him holding a machete during a clash at Kuet went viral on social media.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Central Executive Committee of the BNP's youth affiliate confirmed the expulsion of Mahbubur Rahman, the vice-president of the Jubo Dal's Daulatpur thana unit, due to his involvement in actions that violated the organisation's disciplinary code.
The Jubo Dal also said that it would not take responsibility for Mahbubur's actions.
Earlier, some students locked the university's administrative and academic buildings at 1:30 pm, to press home their six-point demand, including the resignation of VC Prof Mohammad Masud.
A tense situation has been prevailing on the campus as some students confined the VC to the administrative building.
The 'general students' on Tuesday night placed a-five point demand, including resignation of the VC, pro-VC and students' affairs director.
They threatened to boycott classes and exams, if their demands are not met by 1pm on Wednesday.
At 11:30pm, the 'general students' also brought out a protest procession and warned that no student politics on the campus would be allowed.
They demanded that those who attacked them be brought to justice immediately.
The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM) and students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) held a protest rally on Tuesday night against what they described as the terrorist attack by Chhatra Dal on Kuet students.
ADSM organised the rally at Dhaka University's Raju Sculpture while Buet students gathered at their Shaheed Minar on Tuesday evening.
Another report adds: Chhatra Dal claimed that the attack at Kuet was orchestrated by members of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and Islami Chhatra Shibir.
Speaking at a press conference held at Dhaka University's Teacher-Student Center (TSC) on Wednesday, Chhatra Dal General Secretary Nasir Uddin said, "Every major fire in Bangladesh starts with a small short circuit. Yesterday, Anti-Discrimination Student Movement's unruly mob initiated such an act. The attack was led by Convener Omar Faruq and monitored from the centre by Hasnat Abdullah."
Nasir further claimed that Chhatra Shibir members, fearing exposure after recent mass uprising, carried out the attack on Chhatra Dal members. According to him, when injured students sought refuge in local shops, the attackers turned on the shopkeepers as well, triggering a violent clash with residents.
Chhatra Dal leaders said that the violence began during a rally organised under the banner of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
They accused Kuet committee convener Omar Faruq of instigating the rally, which they claimed unexpectedly turned into an assault on Chhatra Dal supporters.
Chhatra Dal president Rakibul Islam said, "Based on victims' testimonies, media reports, images, and videos, we found that the first attack came from that rally."
He reiterated that as injured students tried to escape, they were assaulted again, leading to retaliation from local residents. This escalated into a full-blown clash at the KUET gate, lasting for about an hour.
Chhatra Dal announced that a three-member investigation committee had been dispatched to KUET to probe the incident.
While they acknowledged that conclusions should not be drawn before an official administrative report is released, their written statement directly accused Chhatra Shibir, Hasnat Abdullah, and KUET convener Omar Faruq of orchestrating the attack.