An attack allegedly carried out by the members of banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) left a student coordinator injured at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University (BSMRSTU) in Gopalganj on Saturday.
The incident occurred in the afternoon near the university’s administrative building when members of Anti-Discrimination Student Movement attempted to detain a banned Student League activist and hand him over to police.
Eyewitnesses reported that Shariful Islam Sohag, a postgraduate student of History Department and a known BCL activist, arrived on campus to sit for an examination. After the test, activists from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement detained him.
However, Shariful's followers reportedly attacked the activists, injuring a coordinator, and managed to free him. The attackers were heard chanting "Joy Bangla," according to witnesses.
The altercation escalated into several rounds of chases and counter-chases between the groups before calming down later in the afternoon.
The injured is Omar Sharif, a student of the Physics Department.
Jasim Uddin, another coordinator of the movement, explained the sequence of events: “Sohag, who was directly involved in attacking students during the July movement, was leaving the campus after an exam. When we, along with other students, attempted to detain him and hand him over to the police, Sohag and other Student League members attacked us. During this, Omar Sharif was injured.”
Omar Sharif, who was injured in the attack, confirmed, “While handing Sohag over to police, I was attacked.”
The university's Proctor, Arifuzzaman Rajib, informed reporters, “I am currently at home as it’s a holiday. I have been informed of the incident by students over the phone. I will look into the matter upon returning to campus.”
Gopalganj Sadar Police Station officer-in-charge Mir Md. Sajedur Rahman stated, “There was a chase and counter-chase between two groups of students. The police did not enter the campus. The situation is currently calm.”