Bangladesh News

A Rajshahi court yesterday sent two Rajshahi University (RU) professors and a driver to jail after they surrendered before the court in a case filed in connection with torching the vehicle of assistant director of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) during the late August’s violence.

The RU teachers are Prof Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan Sajal and Prof Golam Sabbir Sattar Tapu of geology and mining department. The other person who also surrendered is Ataur Rahman, a driver of former RU vice-chancellor (VC) Faisul Islam Faruki.

The Speedy Trial court of SM Fazlul Karim Chowdhury fixed September 18 for charge framing. He also granted division in jail for the professors following their petitions.

Sadikul Islam, another accused in the case, arrested earlier, and deputy chief information officer of RU Public relations office, also prayed for division in jail. The court asked the jail authorities to provide him division if they thought he was eligible for division in accordance with the jail code.

Rajshahi DGFI Assistant Director Shawkat Ali lodged the case with Motihar Police Station on August 23 accusing two teachers and four students–Dipayan Sarkar, Mizanur Rahman Mithu, Sardar Ayaz, and SM Fakrul Islam Raihan.

The investigation officer (IO) of the case Sub-inspector Mukhtar Hossain submitted the charge sheet accusing 14 people. The other eight accused are Bangladesh Chhatra League RU unit secretary Ayenuddin, Sadikul Islam, Abu Sayem, Shamim Ahmed, Kazi Abdul Latif, Shakhawat Hossain, Aziz Bin Kamal and Ataur Rahman.

The plaintiff in his complaint said the two teachers ordered and instigating the demonstrating students to set fire to the government-owned vehicle while he was on duty at the campus on August 22.

The same court yesterday fixed September 17 for charge framing in another case filed against six RU teachers in connection with violating the Emergency Power Rules.

The six teachers–former RU VC M Saidur Rahman Khan, RU syndicate member M Abdus Sobhan, Moloy Bhowmik, Dulal Chandra Biswas, Sayed Selim Reza Newton and Abdullah Al Mamun–were produced before the court.

Several teachers and officials of the university have been made prosecution witnesses of the two cases.

Meanwhile, wives of all the arrested teachers and their family members met RU VC Prof Altaf Hossain at his campus residence yesterday afternoon.

Talking to reporters following the 45-minute meeting, Altaf Hossain said the relatives of the teachers met him and narrated their present condition. “I told them what the RU authorities can do for them and what can not be done,” said the VC refusing to elaborate.

SYDICATE MEETING
The RU syndicate is to sit today and discuss the reopening the university, the university’s vice-chancellor yesterday said.

VC Prof Altaf Hossain said the university authorities yesterday held a meeting with senior faculty members and other high officials of the university to finalise the agenda and other issues for the syndicate meeting.

Campus sources said high-ranking police and intelligence officials were present at yesterday’s meeting.

Meantime, the university’s admission sub-committee will hold a meeting today at the vice-chancellor’s office to discuss admission-related issues for current academic year.

All the public universities in the country were closed sine die on August 22 following the students’ turmoil last month.