BCL-Shibir Brawl

Kaptai polytec closed <i>sine die</i>

9 July 2009, 17:00 PM

Our Correspondent, Rangamati

Bangladesh Sweden Polytechnic Institute (BSPI) in Kaptai was declared closed for an indefinite period yesterday following serious brawl between Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and Islami Chhatra Shibir over control of the campus. The authorities ordered the students to vacate the residential halls within 1:00pm yesterday. Activists of BCL and Shibir got locked in chase and counter chase in the institution on Wednesday night. However, no one was injured. After Shibir men destroyed a banner of BCL on Tuesday, tension spread among the activists of the two student organisations. Shibir men on Wednesday drove out the BCL activists from the campus of BSPI, known as a Shibir stronghold for long. As activists of the two organisations yesterday took position with hockey sticks and sharp weapons on the campus, the authorities in an emergency meeting took decision to close the institution for an indefinite period. “We closed the institute to avert any unpleasant incident,” said BSPI Principal Shawkatul Islam. Police and BDR have been deployed on the campus.