BANGLADESH

Pro-government Bangladesh Chhatra League has claimed that one of the two who died in the clash with Islami Chhatra Shibir at Chittagong University was a BCL member.

Earlier, claiming both deceased as their members, the pro-Jamaat-e-Islami student organisation called a half-day general strike on Thursday in the port city.

"Deceased Mohammad Mojaheed was a BCL activist," CU BCL unit senior vice-president Abul Mansur Shikder told a press briefing at 8pm on Wednesday at a private hospital Medical Center in the city's GEC Intersection area.

Zoology second-year student Mohammad Mojaheed and English final-year student Masud Bin Habib died earlier in the day in clashes between BCL and Chhatra Shibir activists over the distribution of invites for the university's Islamic History Department first-year orientation programme.

However, right after the clash, Shibir's CU unit president Badiul Alam claimed that Habib was the general secretary of university's Suhrawardy Hall unit and Mojaheed was a member of his organisation.

Doctors at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) declared Mojaheed and Habib dead around 3:30pm after they were taken there with fatal injuries.

Meanwhile, the university authorities have ordered all students to vacate the dormitories and postponed academic activities until Feb 16 following the hour-long clashes which also left at least 35 injured, including CU proctor Nasim Hasan.

BCL held the press briefing at Medical Center where some of the injured were admitted.

Blaming Shibir for the clash, Mansur said at least 50 BCL activists were injured in the clash and five of them were in critical condition.

He claimed, "This was a planned assault. Chhatra Shibir also held show-down programme on Tuesday night. Wednesday's assault took place as the CU BCL unit president and general secretary were not present on the campus."

He further alleged that police were also not effective during the clash.

Asking the CU authorities to resume university activities, the ruling party student wing leader said BCL will file a case with Hathazari Police Station over 'Mojaheed murder'.

He also announced at the briefing that his party will hold a human-chain programme and demonstrate in the city's Sholoshohor area on Thursday to protest 'Mojaheed's murder and assault'.