C T Online Desk: A female student has died after being hit by a battery-run rickshaw on the Jahangirnagar University (JU) campus.
The incident occurred in front of the new Arts Building on campus on Tuesday evening.
The deceased was identified as Afsana Karim Rachi, a student of the 53rd batch (2023-24 session) of the Department of Marketing, and a resident of Begum Khaleda Zia Hall.
She was a former student of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College and the daughter of businessman Md Rezaul Karim from Sherpur district.
According to eyewitnesses, the victim was crossing the road in front of the new Arts Building when a speeding battery-run auto rickshaw from the opposite direction struck her, and she was thrown into a tree.
Afsana was initially taken to the JU Medical Centre, but due to her critical condition, she was transferred to Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar.
The on-duty physician declared her dead upon arrival.
Dr Rakib Al Mahmud Shuvo, the on-duty doctor, confirmed the matter.
Duty manager Sabuj said: “She was brought to Enam Medical College at exactly 7:30pm. We found her dead upon arrival. We didn’t find any major injuries on her body, but her teeth were completely dislodged along with her gums. It is likely that this injury caused her death.”
Protest on campus
Meanwhile, the university administration has not yet been able to identify the autorickshaw driver.
Regarding this, the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education) Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman said: “The student who came to the university a month ago with many dreams, her death is very tragic. Such deaths are not desired by anyone. We have spoken to the family of the deceased student. The process of identifying the accused rickshaw driver is underway. In addition, the administration is working to restore order to the vehicular traffic inside the university as quickly as possible.”
Immediately after the incident, general students organized a protest march with eight demands.
Around 9:30pm, the procession started from the university’s Bottioa area and after circling several streets, reached in front of the Vice Chancellor’s residence.
Later, leaders, members of various organizations, and students joined the protest. As of the last report at 11pm, the students were still holding their position there.
The students’ demands are as follows:
- Proper justice for this structural murder within 24 hours;
- Installation of adequate streetlights, footpaths, and speed breakers;
- Ensuring speed limits for vehicles;
- Proper financial compensation for the deceased student’s family;
- Improvement in the quality of emergency services at the medical center;
- A ban on all unregistered vehicles from the campus and ensuring transparency in the vehicle registration process;
- Ensuring that all rickshaw drivers are trained and registered;
- Removal of unskilled security personnel and ensuring that CCTV cameras are operational within 24 hours.
Boycott of classes and exams
Meanwhile, first-year students have boycotted classes and exams until there is clear justice in this matter.
On behalf of the 53rd batch of students, Afia Ibnat Samiha, a student of Economic department, said: “We, the students of the 53rd batch, would like to inform everyone that we are boycotting all academic activities, including classes, exams, and labs, until there is clear justice for our sister Afsana Rachi, a Marketing student of the 53rd batch, whose murder is being protested.”
Kaniz Fatema, a classmate of Afsana Rachi, said: “Our friends came to the hospital upon hearing the news. Rachi had gone out alone for a walk this afternoon. We just started our classes a month ago, and within such a short time, we lost a friend.”
The university’s Proctor Professor Rashidul Alam, said: “I received news of the incident around 7pm and immediately rushed to the spot. I personally called an ambulance, which reached the hospital in just 11 minutes. Unfortunately, we couldn’t save her.”
