Himu's Window

Sunday, January 10, 2010 Despite forewarning from the district police administration about Bangladesh Chhatra League's preparation for an attack, the ruling party leadership in Rajshahi failed to tame their student wing resulting in Chhatra Moitree leader Sunny's death on Thursday. Speaking on condition of anonymity two senior police officials told The Daily Star yesterday that law enforcers told Awami League leadership beforehand about muscle flexing of Chhatra League activists on the Rajshahi Polytechnic Institute campus. "As we could sense an imminent danger from some recent incidents we warned local ruling party leaders and requested them to control their student organisation at polytechnic institute," a senior police official here said preferring anonymity. A bomb went off on January 3 as activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League were making bombs at a Chhatra League-dominated dorm as part of their preparation for a clash, he said. "Sensing so...

Published On: 2010-01-09   THE death of a student leader belonging to the Chattra Moitree of Rajshai Polytechnic Institute (RPI) due to violence is most unfortunate and regrettable. The fact that the perpetrators belonged to the Chattra League must be a cause of severe embarrassment to the ruling Awami League. The matter assumes even more poignancy when it turns out that the deceased belonged to the student wing of one of the AL's coalition partners. It seemed for a while that the spate of campus violence, perpetrated by the BCL immediately after the assumption of office by the AL, had subsided. But we were wrong. We feel that the AL high command is yet to get full control of its student wing; evidently not enough has been done to make it entirely malleable to party fiats despite the PM's clear directives. And it seems, too, that there is no one to take effective charge of the CL. It is quite natural that there would be a period, at the initial stage when a party ...

Saturday, January 9, 2010   At least 31 people, including 28 students, were killed and over 2,500 injured in some 61 incidents of violence at different educational institutions in Rajshahi since the country's independence. Justice has hardly been meted out in any of the cases and in most cases the perpetrators got away with the crimes by exerting their political clout. Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), student wing of Awami League, was involved in two of the murders after the Awami League-led government came to power in 2009 greatly affecting the educational atmosphere in the city. The latest incident of murder took place on Thursday following a clash between Bangladesh Chhatra League and Chhatra Moitree, student wing of Workers' Party. After the killing of Sunny, vice-president of Chhatra Moitree of Rajshahi Polytechnic Institute, the institution was closed indefinitely. The government and the local leaders of the ruling alliance have miserably failed in re...

Friday, January 8, 2010 A leader of Chhatra Moitree of Rajshahi Polytechnic Institute unit was killed in an attack by Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) men over establishing supremacy on the campus forcing the authorities to close the institute for an indefinite period. The Rajshahi City unit BCL dissolved the Polytechnic Institute unit committee of BCL and expelled its eight men including institute unit BCL President Nizam Uddin and General Secretary Saddam Hossain Tushar in connection with the attack. Four people including two policemen were injured during the attack on the campus while another ten people also injured in a clash between the two groups following the death. Rezanul Islam Chowdhury Sunny, 22, the institute unit Moitree vice-president, succumbed to his fatal head injuries at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) around 4:30pm. Sunny, son of Monwarul Islam Chowdhury, Motihar thana Awami League's information affairs secretary and Shamima Monwar, acti...

Friday, January 1, 2010 Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leader Emdadul Haque was sent to jail after he was hauled before a court yesterday on charges of beating up a Rajshahi University teacher and attempting to extort an admission seeker. The First Court of Metropolitan Magistrate Amirul Islam also rejected his bail prayer in connection with the case filed by the assaulted folklore department teacher Anupam Hera Mondol. Meanwhile, the RU unit BCL suspended membership of Haque, mass education affairs deputy secretary of the university unit. They also wrote to the central committee for his expulsion terming the attack on a teacher a heinous crime, said Ibrahim Hossain Moon, president of RU unit BCL. Both police and RU BCL leaders say Suman, another accused in the case, could not be properly identified as his father's name and hometown remained unknown. RU Proctor Prof Chowdhury Zakaria, meanwhile, served Haque with a show-cause notice asking him to clarify in seven...

  Rajshahi University (RU) was closed for an indefinite period yesterday following violent clashes that erupted the night before between students and local businesspeople. The RU authorities asked resident students to vacate all of the 16 dormitories by 12:00 noon yesterday. At least 60 people including teachers, students and police personnel were injured and six off-campus stores vandalised during the clashes. Out of the seriously injured, mostly students, 20 were admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital while the rest were given first aid at RU Medical Centre. Bangladesh Rifles and Rapid Action Battalion were deployed on the campus at around 2:00am to contain the situation. The RU syndicate in an emergency meeting held later in the morning at the vice chancellor's (VC) residence decided to close the university sine die. Prof Mamnunul Keramat, the acting VC, said the decision was taken to avoid further casualties or damage to properties. "Academic activate...

  Rajshahi University has been closed sine die following clashes overnight between students and traders at Binodpur area adjacent to the campus.   The authority asked residential students to vacate all their halls in the campus within 12pm. Meanwhile, the students started leaving halls from the midnight when senior RU officio informed of an indefinite closure of the university.   The university high ups in a meeting with local administration opined for the closure in the midnight. Later in the morning, the RU  syndicate took the decision formally in a brief emergency meeting in the morning.   The clashes erupted following cheating of a student by businessmen Tuesday afternoon and the melee left around 100 persons hurt, three shops torched, and five others damaged. Attacks were launched at the residence of acting RU vice chancellor Prof Mamnunul Keramat and Shah Makhdum and Sher-e Bangla halls during violence.   Read:...