Attack on students shameful: SUST Teachers' Association

Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) Teachers' Association has officially condemned the incident of Sunday's police attack on protesting students.

A statement, signed by the association's President Professor Dr Tulshi Kumar Das and General Secretary Professor Md Mohibul Alam, was issued on Monday night calling the incident "shameful." 

"Teachers of the university have been stunned, shocked and ashamed by the utterly disgraceful confrontation that recently erupted on SUST campus," reads the statement.  

The teachers' union demanded to take action by identifying those involved in the heinous incident.

They also called on the administration to provide proper treatments to the injured students and teachers of the university.

Meanwhile, the statement also sought the cooperation of all to bring back normalcy on the campus.

The student protests on the campus began Thursday last week as female students of Begum Sirajunnesa Chowdhury Hall protested "abuses by the hall provost". Other SUST students joined the demonstration after alleged Chhatra League attacks on the female students.

The situation took a new turn Sunday as police charged batons, lobbed tear shell canisters, fired rubber bullets and used stan grenades to disperse the students who blocked the VC in his office.

Subsequently, the university authorities suspended all classes and examinations indefinitely and ordered the students to leave the campus by Monday noon. Rejecting the order, the protestors launched the anti-VC movement on Sunday night.

The university authorities defended police action by saying the protestors not only blocked the VC but also threw brick chips on police leading to retaliation.

After the police action drew criticism on social media, the university authorities said they have launched an inquiry into the incident.