10 injured as BCL men attack SUST teachers [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

10 injured as BCL men attack SUST teachers

Local August 31, 2015

At least 10 teachers were injured as Bangladesh Chhatra League attacked teachers at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology who were staging protests for the removal of the university vice-chancellor on Sunday.
The activists of the ruling Awami League-backed student organisation snatched the banner of the protesting teachers and scuffled with them assaulting them even felling several of them on the ground, witnesses said.
Muktizuddher Cetanay Udbuddha Shikkhak Parishad, a platform of the teachers at the university who have been staging movements since April 20 for the removal of vice-chancellor Aminul Haque Bhuiyan, would observe work abstention between 9:00am and noon today protesting against the attack.
Platform convener Syed Shamsul Alam said that they would also bring out a procession on the campus and hold a rally during the work abstention.
Campus sources said that the agitating teachers on August 27 announced that they would stage a sit-in in front of the vice-chancellor’s office between 9:00am and 5:00pm on Sunday as a part of their ongoing movement.
Vice-chancellor Aminul Haque convened a meeting of the board of advance studies at 9:00am on Sunday triggering unrest on the campus, they said.
A meeting of the academic council was also scheduled for t 3-00pm on Sunday, official sources said.
Chhatra League leaders and activists took position in front of the vice-chancellor’s office at about 7:00am in support of Aminul, the witnesses said.
The protesting teachers also started gathering there from 8:00am to stage their prescheduled sit-in.
Aminul reached there at about 8:30am and the protesting teachers obstructed his way to enter the office, the witnesses said, adding that Chhatra League people came to Aminul’s aid and scuffled with the teachers, snatched their banner and assaulted some of them.
At least 10 teachers were injured and some of them were assaulted even after they fell down on the ground, the witnesses said.
Muhammad Yunus, Yasmeen Haque, Syled Shamsul Alam, MA Gani, Syed Hasanuzzaman, Dipen Devnath, ANK Samaddar, Faruk Uddin, Mostafa Kamal Masud and Omar Faruq were among the victims, the witnesses said.
Aminul along with his companions, however, managed to make a way to his office while the Chhatra League men were engaged in scuffling with the teachers, the eyewitnesses said.
‘The vice-chancellor enticed the Chhatra League people to attack the teachers,’ Syed Shamsul Alam said, adding that police personnel and university authorities, including the vice-chancellor, register, proctor and assistant proctors were present on the spot as onlookers.
Aminul, however, claimed that some teachers tried to obstruct his way to the office and a group of general students locked in an altercation with them over the matter.
He said that he would try to run the university ‘properly’ until the government would ask him to quit the job.
Author Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, also a teacher of the university, who was observing the incident sitting beside the spot amid torrential rain, said that he was suffering from an extreme mental distress seeing students beating up their teachers.
University Chhatra League vice-president Anjan Roy denied the allegation saying, ‘General students rescued the vice-chancellor when the agitating teachers were trying to obstruct his way to office.’
A section of the pro-AL teachers have been staging protests on the campus since April 20 for the removal of Aminul on allegation of corruption, irregularities, nepotism and misbehaviours with fellows.
Thirty-five senior teachers, including Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, also had resigned from 37 administrative posts, expressing their ‘no-confidence’ in Aminul.
In the face of teachers’ movement, Aminul was forced to go on a two-month leave on April 23 citing personal ground.
The teachers resumed their movement on June 18 after Aminul announced that he would return to the campus.
Ain O Salish Kendra condemned the attack on SUST teachers and demanded tough actions against the people involved, said a statement signed by its executive director Sultana Kamal.