Fear of unrest prompts Cuet to close early
Eight days ahead of schedule, Cuet's Academic Council yesterday closed the university till November 12 to avoid any untoward situation centring an alleged assault on a student by a BCL activist.
Coming up with the decision in a meeting around 4:00pm, Cuet gave male students around one and a half hours and female students till 10:00am today to vacate the halls.
Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (Cuet) was scheduled to close on October 17 for Durga Puja and Eid-ul Azha holidays.
The assault took place inside a Cuet bus around 1:00am yesterday after a fourth year student of electrical and electronics engineering department, Bappy, told a second year student of the department, Naimul Islam, to stop smoking.
Naimul, a Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activist, then physically assaulted Bappy.
Within an hour, some 200 students, protesting the assault, staged a sit-in before Bangabandhu Hall, where BCL activists armed with iron rods and sticks attacked them. The hall provost and some teachers prevented the attack.
The students, in their fourth year in four departments, then boycotted classes and staged another sit-in before the Cuet administrative building from 6:30am to 4:30pm demanding a ban on political activities on the campus and exemplary punishment to Naimul.
Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Jahangir Alam said a five-member probe committee was formed to investigate into the assault.
Cuet unit BCL President Mashiul Kabir Misu said BCL was not involved in the matter.
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