C T Online Desk: The number of injured students rose to over 100, including 23 in critical conditions, following clashes between Chattogram University (CU) students and locals near CU campus early Sunday.
Two teachers from CU proctorial team were also injured in the late-night clashes, which started over a female student’s late-night entry into her rented apartment near university campus.
Around 3:30pm, the army brought the situation under control, after police failed to ease tensions, according to the university authority.
CU Proctor Mohammad Tanvir Haider claimed “a large number of security personnel” were also injured by the locals.
Md Tipu Sultan, a physician at CU Medical Centre, said he never before saw so many injured students in a single day, adding he himself attended to around 100 of the wounded. Twenty-three critically injured students were referred to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, he said.
Al Masnun, a leader of the Democratic Students’ Council, was injured with sharp local weapons, said the student organisation’s CU Unit Chief Organiser Sabbir Hossain.
The CU campus and nearby areas remain tense on Sunday morning. The university authorities have halted all the exams due Sunday.
Earlier, at 12:15am, Safia Khatun, a first-year student of philosophy department, went to the building she lives in as a tenant. The building is located near the university’s gate No 2.
As it was past the deadline for closing the front gate, the gatekeeper refused to unlock the entrance despite Safia’s repeated requests. She, however, claimed she reached the gate early as usual.
The gatekeeper verbally abused her, and as she responded, pushed her, Safia claimed. As her roommates came down to intervene, the gatekeeper even pushed her down and kicked her, she alleged.
He later fled the scene. A group of students pursued him, only to face stiff local resistance. A chase and counter-chase ensued.
Later, both sides called in reinforcements by using microphones at two nearby mosques. As the conflict escalated, the number of injured students climbed.
Police rushed to the spot around 12:45am but could not enter the No 2 road near the campus as a large number of locals patrolled the site with sharp weapons. Proctor Mohammad Tanvir Haider claimed locals vandalised vehicles of proctorial team and police.
Many locals even went to door-to-door to threaten students living in the university’s neighbourhood.
He even made a facebook post calling on “everyone” to extend support to university students and teachers. Later, army intervention stabilised the situation. Legal proceedings would be taken over the incident, Proctor Tanvir Haider has told reporters.
