The Jahangirnagar University (JU) administration has detained 12 students over their alleged involvement in ragging freshmen under the guise of teaching them “manners” late on Friday night.
The incident took place around 2am at the university’s School and College field. Following the incident, the victims submitted a written complaint to the Proctor’s Office, while the accused students reportedly provided written confessions to the proctorial team admitting their involvement.
All 12 detained students are from the 54th batch of the History Department. They have been identified as Subhashish Roy, Nasim Uddin Majumder, Abu Abtahi Onik, Naimul Hasan, Abdullah Mahdi, Isfaq Hadi Sikta, Md Raihan Khan, Kazi Shah Jamshed Alam Nabil, Saifullah Mansur Anan, Md Mahfuzur Rahman Anto, Shree Kartik Chandra Roy, and Naim Ahmed Sajib.
According to victims and witnesses, several students from the 55th batch were summoned over phone to the Mahua Mancha around 11pm and later taken to a secluded area near the School and College field. They alleged that they were subjected to obscene remarks about their parents, forced to stand while holding their ears, and made to endure both physical and mental harassment.
“They spoke to us using offensive language regarding our parents,” said Md Ehsanul Huq, one of the victims. “We were forced to hold our ears and humiliated in the name of an ‘introduction’. Eventually, the proctorial team and JAKSU leaders rescued us.”
Another student, Raj Khan, said the incident was not isolated, claiming that freshmen are repeatedly summoned to the field late at night for similar “manner-teaching” sessions.
Husne Mobarak, Health and Food Affairs Secretary of the Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JAKSU) and a member of the anti-ragging cell, said they reached the spot around 2am after being informed and immediately notified the administration.
He said the accused were taken to the security office for questioning, where they admitted to the allegations.
“It is deeply concerning that such incidents are still taking place despite efforts to make the campus ragging-free,” he added, saying JAKSU would maintain a zero-tolerance stance.
Assistant Proctor Professor Abdur Razzaq confirmed that a preliminary investigation found the allegations to be true. He said information had been collected from all parties and the matter would be placed before the proctorial body meeting for further action, with administrative measures to follow.
