Auto-rickshaw drivers protest 'assault by CU students'

Drivers of CNG-run auto-rickshaws stopped plying their vehicles on the Chittagong University campus for two hours yesterday, protesting "an assault by students".

They withdrew the strike after assurance that the university would look into the matter.

Four auto-rickshaws were vandalised in the incident, the drivers said, demanding compensation and punishment for the "attackers".

Driver Jahangir Alam said he was kicked by activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) because he could not pick one of them on the way to Gate 1 from Zero Point.

However, BCL general secretary of CU unit Fazly Rabby Sujon said they were general students and did not assault any driver; rather it was a scuffle. He said there was an altercation between a student and a driver because the driver almost ran the vehicle over the foot of the student.

The proctor said he heard that the students and drivers had a scuffle.

The strike caused sufferings to students who use the auto-rickshaws to commute between the campus and Chittagong city, avoiding the overcrowded shuttle trains.