The central committee of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) has expelled two leaders of its Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) unit following allegations that they assaulted a student on the campus.
The decision was announced in a press release signed by JCD central office secretary Md Jahangir Alam on Sunday.
The expelled leaders are Hasibur Rahman, communication affairs secretary of the SUST unit, and Tarek Rahman, assistant office secretary.
JCD said the action was taken over allegations of involvement in activities that went against organisational discipline. The decision was approved by the organisation’s central president Rakibul Islam Rakib and general secretary Nasir Uddin Nasir.
According to university sources, a student was allegedly assaulted near the university’s main gate around 10:45pm on Saturday after he raised complaints about the quality of food served at the canteen of Shahparan Hall.
The injured student, Khairul Khandaker of the Sociology Department’s 2023-24 academic session, received treatment at a private hospital in Sylhet, said university Proctor Professor Mokhlesur Rahman.
Following the incident, students gathered in front of the vice-chancellor’s residence late Saturday night and staged a protest.
Later, Vice-Chancellor Professor Khairul Islam met the students and assured them that an investigation would be completed within three working days and action would be taken against those found responsible.
Khairul alleged that he had earlier posted on the Shahparan Hall Facebook group about poor-quality food, including rotten fish, being served at the hall canteen.
He said he was later called several times to discuss the post.
He claimed that on Saturday night, after he again raised concerns over food quality, Hasibur Rahman and Tarek Rahman spoke to him near the main gate and assaulted him at one stage. Fellow students later rescued him and took him to hospital.
However, Tarek Rahman denied the allegation, saying that a discussion over the Facebook post turned into a physical altercation after Khairul behaved improperly.
He also claimed that Hasibur Rahman was injured during the incident and that his mobile phone and glasses were damaged.
Shahparan Hall Provost Professor Iftekhar Ahmed said the university administration usually tries to resolve students’ complaints through discussions.
He added that the alleged assault would be investigated.
