Leaders and activists of Rajshahi University (RU) unit of Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) reportedly launched an attack using local weapons – including cleavers, machetes, hockey sticks, pipes, and baseball bats – on journalists and students in front of Shahid Ziaur Rahman Hall on Sunday night.
At least 10 people were injured in the incident, including four journalists who sustained serious injuries. The injured four have been taken to the university medical centre for treatment.
The attack occurred at around 8:30pm on Sunday in front of Shahid Ziaur Rahman Hall.
The seriously injured journalists have been identified as Jahidul Islam, representative of Agamir Somoy; Nur Ahsan Mirdul, representative of The Daily Star; Arifuazzaman Korban, university representative of bdnews24.com; and Mainul Islam Raju, representative of Dainik Samakal.
Several other journalists were also injured during the attack.
According to eyewitnesses, at least 10 JCD leaders and activists participated in the assault, including Ahsan Habib, Vice-President of the university unit JCD; Hasibul Islam, Joint General Secretary; Shariful Islam, Vice-President; and Shahriar Alam, Assistant Office Secretary.
Eyewitnesses and journalists present at the scene stated that JCD activists brought out a procession from the university transport market at around 8pm and proceeded to Shahid Ziaur Rahman Hall with the intention of assaulting Ariful Islam, General Secretary (GS) of the Hall Union, with several carrying cleavers, machetes, hockey sticks, pipes, and baseball bats.
When university Proctor Mahbubur Rahman arrived at the scene upon receiving news of the situation, the JCD activists concealed their weapons.
However, when university representatives of Dainik Samakal and Ajker Patrika stepped forward to video-record them after spotting weapons, the representative of Samakal was beaten with a stick, an attempt was made to snatch the mobile phone of the Ajker Patrika representative, and the bdnews24.com representative was also assaulted.
The proctor subsequently took the journalists inside the hall and locked the door. When other journalists rushed to the scene upon hearing of the attack, Nur Ahsan Mirdul of The Daily Star and Jahidul Islam of Agamir Somoy were assaulted, causing Jahidul to sustain a fractured head.
When fellow journalists attempted to save them, the attackers threatened to bury them.
Facebook dispute fuels campus tension
According to university sources, the incident originated from a comment made on a Facebook post by JCD leader M Ahsan Habib concerning Rucsu (Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union) GS Salahuddin Ammar.
Ahsan Habib alleged that Rakibul Islam, Assistant Cultural Secretary of Rucsu, made abusive remarks about his mother and sister in the comments section of that post.
Rakibul, on the other hand, claimed that Ahsan Habib had threatened to beat him up and demanded to know his location, after which both posted counter-statements on social media stating their positions.
On Sunday, Rakibul stayed in front of Shahid Ziaur Rahman Hall from 10am to 5pm, while Ahsan Habib took position there at 5:54 pm accompanied by JCD leaders and activists, some of whom carried baseball bats and announced they would remain until 10pm.
Criticising their presence, Hall Union GS Ariful Islam posted on Facebook, “Tarique Rahman’s golden boys have left extortion and are carrying out terrorist activities on campus with local weapons.”
Following his post, JCD leaders and activists reportedly gathered in front of the hall armed with iron rods, pipes, cleavers, and other local weapons, after which the attack on journalists took place.
Commenting on the incident, Sultan Ahmed Rahi, President of the university unit JCD, stated, “I have informed the central JCD about the matter. Action will be taken against them quickly.”
Expressing helplessness over the situation, University Proctor Mahbubur Rahman said, “We have failed. It was not possible for us to control the situation. We called the police, but the police also fled.”
