JnU students go on strike in protest

Jagannath University students yesterday went on a strike at the university protesting the murder of Nazim Uddin Samad, one of their fellows.

They locked all five academic buildings around 7:30am and demonstrated on the campus till 2:00pm, said Lucky Akter, a student of the university.

"The proctorial body later broke the locks," said Lucky, also president of Bangladesh Chhatra Union.

They ended the demonstration announcing that they would besiege the vice chancellor's office next Wednesday, she added.

Nazim, a law student of the university, was hacked and shot to death by unidentified assailants on the capital's Hrishikesh Das Lane on Wednesday.

Expressing grave concern at the murder, Human Rights Forum Bangladesh, a platform of 19 rights organisations, issued a statement signed by its convener Sultana Kamal, saying the investigation into the crime would hamper as the authorities concerned were focusing more on analysing the writings of the victim rather than finding out the killers.

A day after the murder, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the government was looking into whether Nazim wrote anything "objectionable" on blogs.

The forum also demanded impartial and prompt investigation into the incident.