IU suspends Antara, four other students over torturing female student

The Islamic University authorities have suspended five of its students, including a leader and four activists of the university unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), as they were found involved in torturing and threatening a female student of the Finance and Banking department.

They suspended the five leaders and activists of the BCL following a High Court order, officials at the IU Registrar Office said.

The decision was made at an emergency meeting of the university's disciplinary committee held on the campus in Kushtia with IU vice-chancellor Professor Sheikh Abdus Salam in the chair, said proctor Shahadat Hossain.

The suspended students are IU BCL unit vice-president Sanjida Chowdhury Antara of Statistics department and her associates Tabassum Islam and Moabiya Jahan of the Finance and Banking department, Halima Khatun Urmi of the Fine Arts department, and Israt Jahan Mim of the Law department of the university.

Among them, Sanjida was IU vice-president of BCL, while the rests were BCL activists. All of them had alreday left the campus at the directive of the High Court. They were also expelled by the central committee of the BCL from the organisation for their involvement in torture.

On the other hand, repressed student Fulpori returned to the campus on Saturday morning under police protection. The university administration later took her to her dormitory at Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall.

It was also decided to serve showcause notices to the five accused students. They would be asked to reply to the showcause notices within the next seven working days. If their replies would not be satisfactory, they would be expelled from the university permanently.

IU pro-vice-chancellor Professor M Mahbubur Rahman, treasurer Professor M Alamgir Hossain Bhuiya, proctor Professor M Shahadat Hossain Azad and acting registrar HM Ali Hasan were present at the meeting that lasted till 1:45pm starting from 12:00 noon on Saturday.

On February 12, Fulpori Khatun, the first-year student at Islamic University who was tortured and humiliated by five now-expelled BCL activists, said her tormentors revelled in making her suffer for four and a half hours.

A student of Finance and Banking at the university's Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall, Fulpori recently narrated details of the horrific incident.

At 11pm on February 12, Sanjida Chowdhury Ontora called Fulpori from Room No. 306 and brought her to the common room, slapped her along with her cohorts, punched her in the head, face, and hit her hard with her hands on her chest.

"They tortured me a lot. They also pricked my foot with a pin." At one stage, the tormentors said: "Now see what ragging is!"

Fulpori quoted her assaulters as saying that: "We are worse than boys."

END/CORR/SZA