SUST closed for 15 days after BCL clash

Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) was declared closed yesterday for 15 days after several factions of Bangladesh Chhatra League engaged in a clash the day before.

Soon after the decision of the university Syndicate was announced around noon following an emergency meeting, a group of aggrieved general students launched a demonstration in protest at the decision and they later besieged the vice chancellor inside the administrative building.

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The decision was taken after three factions of the BCL grouped up and attacked another faction to overpower the latter at the Shah Paran Hall, a dormitory of the SUST, on Tuesday evening.

Immediately after the clash, the university authorities also asked resident students except the ones staying in the women's dormitories to vacate their rooms and leave the campus by 8:00am yesterday.  

In its decision the Syndicate suspended all academic activities including classes and examinations and prohibited all sorts of rallies and processions till January 5, said Prof Dr Kabir Hossain, a member of the Syndicate.  

A five-member committee, headed by Prof Dr Jahir Bin Alam, was also formed to investigate the incident, he said, adding that admission and administrative activities will continue during the closure.

The general students, hearing the news of the closure, laid siege to the administrative building around 2:00pm after ending their two-hour-long demonstration on the Sylhet-Sunamganj highway near the university gate.

Vice Chancellor Prof Aminul Haque Bhuyan was inside the building till filing of this report at 6:00pm last evening.

The tyrannical vice chancellor has always been inconsiderate of student issues, said Sarwar Tushar, a spokesperson for the general students. "We've decided that we will not call off our demonstration until the VC reopens the university."

Akhter Hossain, officer-in-charge of Jalalabad Police Station, said additional forces were deployed on the campus to avert any untoward situation.