BCL gathering on campus: Buet students continue protest for 2nd straight day

Students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) continued their demonstration for the second day today protesting a gathering of Chhatra League activists in the middle of night on the campus where political activities are banned.

Students of different batches started the demonstration by gathering on the road in front of the Shaheed Minar from 8:00am.

Although student politics has been banned on the Buet campus after the murder of Abrar Fahad, some leaders and activists of BCL entered the campus around 2:00am on Thursday and carried out political activities.

Expressing anger over the incident, the students submitted several demands to the Buet administration in writing yesterday afternoon.

A student, preferring anonymity, told The Daily Star this morning that Imtiaz Hossain Rahim, a 21-batch civil engineering student of the university, is. In the face of student protests, Imtiaz earlier said that he would resign from his post to keep maintain congenial atmosphere on the campus, but he did not do so, he said.

Rather, he continues to carry on political activities openly. He played an active role in getting outsiders into the campus that night, talking to the guards and holding political meeting, the student added.

Meanwhile, the Buet authorities last night cancelled the residential facilities of Imtiaz, a resident of Titumir hall, and formed a probe body in the wake of the students’ protest, according to a press release of the university.

“Not only cancelling the hall seat, we also want his [Imtiaz] expulsion from the university and the expulsion of other Buet students who were there,” the protesting student said today.

“Student politics is banned here. How did the student leaders of other universities enter the campus at 2:00am when entry to the campus is prohibited after 10:30pm? They also held programmes in the seminar room. To hold a programme in the seminar room, DSW (Director of Student Welfare) Sir’s permission is needed. When we asked him, he (Imtiaz) said he didn’t know anything about it. But it is not possible that the student leaders of other universities have entered the campus without the permission of the authorities. We also demand the removal of DSW sir if he fails to give a proper answer to this,” the student said.

The Buet authorities imposed a ban on political activities after Fahad Abrar, a second-year student, was beaten to death allegedly by BCL activists at the university’s Sher-e-Bangla Hall on October 7, 2019.