RU Reporter Assault: Police yet to find accused

Police yesterday could not arrest any of the four Chhatra League leaders, accused of assaulting The Daily Star journalist Arafat Rahaman and vandalising a bus the previous day.

Humayun Kabir, officer-in-charge of Motihar Police Station, said police teams and plainclothes detectives hunted the accused in and around the campus, but could not trace them.

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“We learnt that they were hiding in Rajshahi University dormitories. We can't raid the halls without cooperation from the university authorities,” he told this correspondent.

Asked whether they sought cooperation, the OC said, “You know the reality.”

RU Proctor Prof Mujibul Haque Azad said law enforcers didn't ask for help.

“Police must not blame the university authorities. They should seek help if they have any information about the accused.”

He, however, said the university was yet to take any action over the journalist's assault.

Some 25 Chhatra League men, led by RU unit Vice President Ahmed Sajib, Organising Secretary Abid Ahsan Labon, Law Affairs Secretary Saiful Islam Bijoy and Information and Research Secretary Mahamudur Rahman Kanon, vandalised a bus of Desh Travels near the main entrance to the university on Monday.

They brutally beat up Arafat, 20, when he went to the area to take   photographs.

The journalist that night filed a case accusing the four BCL leaders and 10 unnamed others of carrying out the attack. 

Meanwhile, some 200 journalists and students formed a human chain in front of the RU central library around noon yesterday demanding the law enforcers arrest the attackers within the next 24 hours.

They threatened of launching a tough agitation if their demand was not met.

Journalist leaders Sourav Habib, Hasan Adib, Mustafiz Rony, Kaykobad Khan and Taslimul Alam addressed the human chain programme.

Local lawmaker Fazle Hossain Badsha, Rajshahi Union of Journalists, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, the departments of mass communication and journalism and Bengali of RU and RU Central Sangskritik Jote expressed solidarity with the demonstrators.

In the afternoon, journalist leaders handed over a written complaint to RU Deputy Registrar Nesar Uddin Ahmed about the attack on Arafat. They demanded the university authorities take necessary steps to ensure security of journalists.

RU Progotoshil Chhatra Jote brought out a procession on the campus protesting the attack on the newsman.

Rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) yesterday also protested the attack on the Star journalist and demanded prompt action against the perpetrators.

“We are aggrieved at the attack on an on-duty journalist. We think this type of attacks shrinks the freedom of press and create barriers for the journalists in digging out the truth,” it said.

The ASK demanded the authorities concerned punish the attackers to prevent any recurrence of such incidents.

Journalism Alumni Forum of Rajshahi University, a platform of former students of the RU mass communication and journalism department, at an emergency meeting in the capital yesterday condemned the attack on Arafat and demanded immediate arrest of the attackers.