Conviction of 10 RU Students
Parents claim innocence, urge president for release
Parents and relatives of 10 surrendered Rajshahi University (RU) students yesterday urged the president and chancellor of universities Prof Iajuddin Ahmed for freeing their wards from jail and withdrawal of charges of a DGFI vehicle torching against them.
In a press conference at Rajshahi Metropolitan Press Club, they claimed that the students were innocent. They met RU vice chancellor Prof Dr Altaf Hossain and gave him applications to forward these to the president so that their wards can be pardoned from conviction and punishment, they said.
Reading out a written statement, Moynul Islam, brother-in-law of Shamim, a convicted student, said students are not able to sit for examinations, attend classes following the punishment.
The parents and relatives of convicted students also drew attention of chief adviser of caretaker government for their release as well as to save their academic life. "We demand their release in the way four teachers were released last year," read their joint written speech.
"We will send the letters to the president after necessary recommendations by concerned department chairmen and university teachers' liaison committee,"
RU VC Dr Altaf Hossain told reporters referring to his meeting with the students' family members.
RU students mostly from marketing, mass communication and journalism, management, and accounting departments formed a committee and started a signature collection campaign for gearing up their demand for release of the 10 students.
They told reporters that they would send memoranda to the chief adviser of the caretaker government and RU vice chancellor and hold a human chain programme to press home their demand.
Nine convicted students surrendered before a court on Monday following surrender of Abu Sayem, student of Bhasha O Sangskriti (language and culture) department and RU Udichi secretary, a day before.
The nine students are RU Bangladesh Chhatra League Secretary Ayen Uddin, Joint Secretary Aziz Bin Kamal Uzzal, BCL activist Dipayan Sarkar Dip, Mizanur Rahman Mithu, Sardar Ayaz, SM Fakrul Islam Raihan, Shamim Ahmed, Kazi Abdul Latif and Shakhawat Hossain.
A Rajshahi court on December 12 last year acquitted two RU teachers, an officer, but convicted the 10 students and a RU employee in a case for torching a DGFI vehicle. They each were sentenced to three years' rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk 5,000.
They same court on December 4 convicted four RU teachers in another case of emergency power rules violation and sentenced them to two years' imprisonment. But following growing public demand, the government released them from jail through a presidential clemency.
"Our children surrendered before the court honouring its verdict and we are now anxious about their academic life," Shakhawat's father Abdur Samad said at the press conference.
Demanding reinvestigation into the case, Fakrul's father Shah Muhammad Ibrahim said the students were implicated in the case with an ulterior motive.
"I am a poor farmer. If my child is not freed, future of my family will be bleak," said Dipayan's father Subhas Sarker.
"Two convicted students are orphans and the government has responsibility to make their education life smooth," said Uzzal's sister Shimul.
Her son Mithu was living in his native village during the incident he was implicated with, said a tearful Laila Arjumand Banu.
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