Shibir, BCL clashes leave 25 injured at IU
Students asked to vacate dormitories
The authorities of Islamic University in Kushtia asked its students to vacate their dormitories by yesterday afternoon following clashes between Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and Islami Chhatra Shibir activists that left 25 students injured.
Sunday's clashes spilled over from a feud between the groups over pasting posters on walls of dormitories and different points of the campus on the occasion of the 36th death anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, police said quoting witnesses.
The problem ensued when a number of Shibir activists of Ziaur Rahman Hall unit, led by its general secretary Sarfuddin, asked the BCL activists not to paste any poster on walls of the hall.
As news spread that Shibir men ripped off some posters, BCL men along with the activists from some left-leaning student organisations including Chhatra Moitree and Chhatra Union entered the campus around 5:30pm and locked in a clash with the Shibir men, leaving 10 students from both sides injured.
Shibir and BCL men also engaged in another clash at Lalon Shah Hall around 7:30pm, leaving 15 students injured. During the two-hour long clash, both groups were engaged in chase and counter-chase and pelted brick chips on each other, said Mizanur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Islamic University Police Station, quoting witnesses.
They also used sharp weapons and exchanged several rounds of blank shots during the clash.
BCL activists ransacked at least 40 rooms of Shibir men at Saddam Hossain Hall, Ziaur Rahman Hall and Lalon Shah Hall during the clashes, witnesses said.
On information, police rushed to the campus and brought the situation under control.
Around 40 bullets were traded between the groups during clashes, said Chokdar Abdul Halim, assistant superintendent of police (ASP) of Kushtia. But none received bullet injuries, he added.
Of the injured, eight were admitted to Kushtia General Hospital, four in Jhenidah General Hospital while others took treatment at different hospitals and clinics in Kushtia and Jhenidah districts.
After the clashes, the university authorities held an urgent meeting at about 10:30pm on Sunday and took the decision of vacating halls by 3:00pm yesterday.
The students had already started vacating the halls, the ASP told The Daily Star yesterday. Additional police have been deployed at the campus, he added.
The university has been on Eid vacation since August 1, but the authorities had decided to keep the administrative offices open till August 24.
The situation is now under control, said the proctor and informed that the university offices will remain open till August 24.
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