Abrar murder: Buet students threaten class boycott as accused joins classes
The protesting students also threatened to boycott all kinds of classes from 30 May, if the Buet authorities allow the expelled student Ashiqul Islam to take part in classes any further
Students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) on Thursday formed a human chain on the university campus protesting an expelled student's – involved in much-talked-about Abrar Fahad murder – attending classes.
The protesting students also threatened to boycott all kinds of classes from 30 May, if the Buet authorities allow the expelled student Ashiqul Islam to take part in classes any further.
About 100 students from different departments participated in the human chain held in front of the Shaheed Minar on the campus.
Ali Ammar Muaz who read out the written statement said the presence of Ashiqul Islam in online classes has created unrest among students.
"Ashiqul Islam is a murderer. He was expelled for life from the university. Recently, he attended many online classes, which is unexpected. We will wage a tougher movement, if the university does not take proper action in this regard," he said.
Professor Dr Mizanur Rahman, director of Students' Welfare at Buet, told The Business Standard that Ashiqul Islam applied for registration and shown a stay order on the university decision to expel him.
"We followed the court order and gave him permission to attend classes. At the same time, we are preparing to appeal against the stay order. We will move the court next week," he said.
In November 2019, the Buet authorities expelled 26 students including Ashiqul Islam for their alleged involvement in the much-talked-about Abrar Fahad murder.
Of them, 25 are charge-sheeted accused in the murder case. Six other students were given different terms of punishment for breaching discipline.
On 13 November 2019, the police framed charges against 25 current and former members of the Buet unit of the Bangladesh Chhatra League in connection with the murder of Abrar
Among the accused, 21 have already been arrested while four others are absconding.
On 6 October 2019, activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League beat Abrar – a second-year student of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department of Buet – to death for his alleged affiliation with Islami Chhatra Shibir politics.
The incident triggered nationwide protests, as students of different universities across the country took to streets demanding arrest and capital punishment of the killers.
Later, the Buet authorities banned politics of teachers and students on the university campus, in keeping with the demands of protesting students.
