The New Nation - Internet Edition

RU Correspondent

The Rajshahi University (RU) has been closed sine die from Wednesday morning and the authorities vacated all 16 residential halls by noon following overnight violence in and around the campus that left 60 persons injured.

The injured includes students, teachers, journalists and policemen.

Some of the injured were identified as RU student Adviser Faridul Islam Pintu, proctor Enamul Haque, assistant proctor Abdul Haque, Prothom-Alo photo journalist Azahar Uddin, student Sagor, Alif, Sayed, Jashim, Sajjadur, Monwar, Protoy Kumar , Aminul Islam, Sabuj, Liton, Raju, Bapon, Abul Kalam, Rashed, Badal, Hemel, Shahadat, Emdad, Motiur and Alam, police Nayak Sohrab Hossain and constable Monirul Islam.

An emergency syndicate meeting announced the decision after a brief sitting in the morning.

In an office order, RU authority said all classes and examinations will be suspended for an indefinite period to ward off further trouble.

The order also asked students to vacate halls by noon on Wednesday. However, the offices would remain open, said the order.

The clash ensued at around 8:30pm when a group of students attacked a ticket counter of 'Hanif Enterprise ' of Rajshahi-Dhaka bus service over cheating a fellow student.

They also torched three shops including the 'Hanif Enterprise"' counter at Binodhpur Bazar and five others around the troubled spot.

The angry businessmen of the locality retaliated by attacking the student dormitory Shah Mukdum Hall, damaging furniture and computers of the students and setting some of their rooms on fire.

The unruly businessmen with the help of outsiders also attacked two provosts' flats at Sher-e-Bangla Hall and Shah Mukdum Hall and damaged furniture and window panes.

Some agitated traders also assaulted the RU proctor Enamul Haque when he came to the spot to assess the situation, according to students.

The chase and counter-chase between the rampaging students and businessmen continued till midnight Tuesday night. Sticks and brickbats were freely used during the clashes,eye witnesses said.

Later riot police and RAB came to the spot, baton-charged the feuding students and traders and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse them.

Around 2:00 am, hundreds of agitated students gathered in front of the residence of the RU Vice-Chancellor and staged sit-in demonstration demanding punishment of the businessmen who assaulted students and damaged halls.

In the midst of yelling of the students, RU VC Prof Keramat left his residence by the backdoor, sources said.

The demonstrating students left the compound of the VC only when student adviser Faridul Islam Pintu and Proctor Enamul Haque assured them of action against the responsible persons.

Vehicular movement on the Dhaka-Rajshahi Highway remained suspended till 1:00 am as the students put up barricade on it.

The local administration deployed 10 platoons of police, BDR and RAB at different points of the university to facilitate safe departure of the students from the campus.

The RU syndicate formed a seven-member probe committee headed by Prof Dr Delwar Hossain of the Applied Physics Department to probe the incident.

The other members of the committee are : Prof Entajul Haque, syndicate member Siddik Hossain, Social Science Faculty Dean Prof Sadekul Islam, former RU proctor Prof Shamsul Alam Sarker, Prof Abdul Latif and secretary Shahabuddin Sarker.

RU syndicate asked the probe committee to submit its report as soon as possible.

Rajshahi Mayor-elect AHM Khairuzzman Liton on Wednesday visited Binodpur area .

Rafiqul Islam Khan, Officer-in-Charge of Motihar Police Station, told the reporters that police did not arrest any one in this connection.

Earlier narrating the causes of the trouble, campus sources said supervisor of of Hanif Paribahan took Tk 300 from Humayun, a 2nd-semester student of Management Department of the university, as ticket fare for his travel to Gazipur on Tuesday afternoon assuring him a seat. The supervisor didn't give him any ticket.

But he was not provided a seat in the started of the journey.

The supervisor assured him of a seat at Natore. Later, the supervisor allegedly forced Humayun to get down from the bus, without returning him the money, after a quarrel with him over the matter.

Humayun went back to the campus instead of Gazipur, where his brother-in-law was reported sick.

As he narrated the episode of his humiliation, students got angry and hundreds of them rushed out and put barricades on the Dhaka-Rajshahi Highway at Binodpur Bazar Tuesday evening.