BANGLADESH

Former students of Jahangirnagar University on Tuesday demonstrated and held a rally in the city's Shahbagh area protesting attacks by 'VC-backed Bangladesh Chhatra League activists' on teachers and cultural activists.

Some university teachers and activists of Jahangirnagar Sangskritik Jote came under attack on Apr 28, as they had been agitating to demand resignation of vice-chancellor Prof Sharif Enamul Kabir.

At the rally, the protesters came up with a four-point charter of demands, including punishment to the attackers and removal of the VC.

Other demands include judicial probe into the killing of JU student Zubair and holding polls to all the central student unions of the university, including JU Central Student Union.

"Not only the students and cultural activists, but teachers have also been attacked for demanding the VC's resignation in protest against his illegal activities," said Shashanka Baran Roy, a former JU student, who joined the demonstration.

"An autocratic vice-chancellor is sitting at the top of a power structure that is standing with support from some opportunist teacher and student organisations," he added.

Several other organisations including the Bangladesh Chhatra Federation and the Bangladesh Chhatra Union also joined the demonstration. Teachers also expressed their solidarity with the demonstrators.

Dhaka University Prof MM Akash urged the education minister and the prime minister "to intervene and save innocent students from what is happening currently at JU and the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology."

Pointing to the allegations of irregularities brought against the vice-chancellors of JU and BUET, he urged the minister to take action without further delay.

Meanwhile, the students demonstrating under the banners of the Jahangirnagar Sanskritik Jote and the Sontrasher Biruddhe Jahangirnagar on the campus began a fast-unto-death on Tuesday noon protesting the recent attacks and demanding the VC's removal.

Killing of Zubair, an English Department student of the university, fuelled the movement against the VC, already accused of appointing reportedly ineligible people as university teachers and felling trees on the campus for the sake of money.