Attempted rape at JU: Students declare proctor ‘persona non grata’

Female students at Jahangirnagar University yesterday staged an overnight sit-in in front of the vice-chancellor’s residence, demanding the resignation of Proctor Prof AKM Rashidul Alam after the suspect in an attempted rape and murder of a female student could not be arrested even after 48 hours.

The agitating students brought out a protest procession from Tarzan Chattar around 1:30am, marching through the university’s female residential halls before gathering in front of the VC’s residence.

Around 2:30am, JU VC Prof Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan met the protesters in front of his residence, leading to a heated exchange.

The students accused the JU administration of failing to ensure campus safety and called for resignation of the entire proctorial body.

“If any student, teacher, or staff member commits an offence on campus, the proctorial body handles it. But when an outsider commits a crime, it becomes a criminal matter that falls primarily under police jurisdiction,” said VC Kamrul.

The students, however, rejected the VC’s statement.

After 5:00am, Proctor Prof Rashidul Alam reached the spot and addressed the protesters, saying he would resign if the VC asked him to.

As the students urged VC Kamrul to tell him to step down, he said, “A committee will investigate whether there was any negligence on the part of the proctor and proctorial body, and steps will be taken accordingly.”

The students later moved and locked the Proctor’s Office around 10:30am and declared him ‘persona non grata’ on campus, confirmed JU Deputy Registrar (Security) Gafrul Hasan Chowdhury Sajal.

Lamisha Zaman, a student of the history department. said, “Questions have emerged over the role of the proctorial body in light of several incidents over the past two and half years. That is why we have unanimously demanded their resignation.”

Furthermore, JUCSU leaders yesterday warned of launching fresh protests against the university administration if the accused is not arrested soon.

At a press briefing, JUCSU General Secretary Mazharul Islam alleged that a lack of coordination, procedural complications, obstacles in analysing CCTV footage, and conducting the investigation have slowed progress in the case.

Meanwhile, at an emergency meeting last night, JU authorities formed a seven-member committee to investigate the incident, which will be headed by Prof Sohel Rana of Pharmacy.

On Tuesday night, an outsider attempted to rape and murder a female student, allegedly by dragging her from a road near the old Fazilatunnesa Hall into a nearby wood.

The JU authorities filed an attempted rape and murder case with Ashulia Police Station on Wednesday against an unidentified individual.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Police yesterday shared a public awareness post on its verified Facebook page, requesting anyone with information regarding the identity of the suspect in the incident to assist law enforcers.

Police are also working to identify the man captured in CCTV surveillance footage linked to the incident.

The statement assured that the identities of informants would be kept strictly confidential. It also said credible information leading to the suspect’s identification could be rewarded.