Editorial
Abysmal failure to control BCL
It flies in the face of government's maintaining law and order
The recent death of Zubair Ahmed, a fourth-year student of English department at JU, once again lays bare the unbridled BCL rowdyism turning the public universities into veritable battle grounds for exerting power. After finishing one of his honours final year exams, he had come out only to be picked and beaten up allegedly by a rival faction of BCL that led to his death. We vehemently condemn the dastardly act and urge the university administration to bring the killers to book.
What worries us intensely is the fact that this is hardly an isolated incident perpetrated by the pro-Awami League student wing. This is rather part of the orgy of violence taking place across many public universities in the country, almost all of which have ended in casualties including death. Yet, the gangsters roam freely as if they are given a license to terrorize and kill.
Not a week has passed since BCL men injured a senior student brutally at BUET; all academic activities have remained suspended for over a month at Comilla University following BCL infighting. At the Jagannath University, BCL units hitherto locked in fights launched several attacks on opposition student bodies, university officials and also on businessmen. Casualties by BCL cadres using sharp weapons are no fewer in Rajshahi and Jahangirnagar universities.
The signal these continued acts of violence give to the nation is ominous. This shows the BCL men's complete disdain not only for the university authority and the interests of common students, but also for the ruling party. More palpably, as well as smearing the ruling party, it is denigrating the state authority. This fact inevitably begs the question as to how the party which has failed to control its own student wing can ever be trusted with maintaining law and order in the whole country.
Now it is high time the ruling party kept a leash on its student wing if it has to stem its declining credibility with the public and assert authority of the government.
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