Authorities under fire for closing RU

The RU syndicate took the decision on Wednesday after proctors of resident halls indicated the situation has gone out of control with armed cadres roaming the campus to establish supremacy.

Teachers and students alleged that the university was closed only to protect armed cadres of Shibir who have piled up firearms in residential halls after Tuesday's violence.

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According to campus sources, continued administrative support to Shibir and the JCD's interference in Shibir-sponsored black marketing of admission forms had triggered the violence.

Prof. Sayen Uddin and Prof. Abdul Latif, outgoing president and general secretary of Rajshahi University Teachers' Association, blamed the RU authority for Tuesday's incident and protested the closure of the university.

They said the closure was unwarranted and it would create session jams.

"We are worried as Shibir cadres used firearms openly on the campus but the authority did not take any action against them," Prof Sayen said on Thursday.

Prof. Latif questioned the effectiveness of the seven-member committee formed to probe the Tuesday's incident, saying that only pro-Jamaat teachers were placed on it.

RU VC, however, denied the allegation, saying that the decisions were taken unanimously in the syndicate meeting.

The closure came as a relief for Shibir cadres who feared a possible police raid in the halls, said a student, adding that the armed cadres, mostly outsiders, left the halls minutes before the students were asked to vacate the halls.

The closure will lead to another session jam and harassment, said a student of management department that has been experiencing session jam of a couple of years.

Talking to The Daily Star, a number of teachers and students said Tuesday's violence was an outgrowth of recent anti-VC movement by the JCD and its stance against black marketing of admission forms.

The administration virtually supported the Shibir-sponsored black marketing of admission forms as it did not pay heed to students' complaints, said a teacher.

For the first time, the RU authority this year has given permission to some Shibir-backed coaching centres to collect as much as 300 admission forms at a time, said a source, adding that some of the coaching centres were selling the forms at higher prices.

RU Assistant Proctor Prof. Belal Hossain said the coaching centers were authorised to use the forms only for their students.