Nine students at Chittagong University (CU) are on the second day of their hunger strike, demanding justice for the perpetrators involved in clashes with locals and raising seven key issues.
The hunger strike began at 12:30pm on Wednesday, September 10, and continued on Thursday.
The students are protesting under the banner of “Adhikar Sochoten Shikkharthibrindo.”
Among the hunger strikers are Dhruv Barua, a 2018-19 batch student and organiser of the Democratic Students’ Council, Sudarshan Chakma, a 2019-20 batch student and general secretary of the Hill Students’ Council, Omar Samudra, a student of the same batch.
Other students from various departments and student organisations are also participating in this demonstration.
The students have raised seven demands. They are calling for the publication of the list of injured students and the provision of proper medical care. They also demand safe and quality mobile housing for non-residential students, along with effective measures to recover the belongings of displaced students.
Besides, they have called for ensuring the safety of identified students and for bringing the actual perpetrators to justice while halting the harassment of innocent locals.
The students have also recommended the formation of an inclusive coordination committee to resolve the conflict, with meetings held every three months. Additionally, they are demanding the publication and implementation of a road map for a safe campus as decided by the syndicate.
The students have also called for a public apology from the Proctorial Body for the incident involving student injuries and have demanded the resignation of the Proctorial Body.
In response, Chittagong University acting registrar, Professor Dr Mohammad Saiful Islam, stated, “We are trying to maintain an academic environment for students, but they are attempting to create chaos.
“Those who create such situations will not gain support from students.”
