Buet students call off demo, declare to abstain from academic activities

The agitating students of the Bangladesh University Engineering and Technology (Buet) today called off demonstration but declared to abstain from taking part in academic activities until all the accused of Abrar murder are expelled from the university.

The announcement came at a press briefing on the Buet campus on Tuesday afternoon following a meeting with the Directorate of Students' Welfare of one of the most competitive universities in Bangladesh.

"The Buet administration has pledged that our demands will be met. So with due respect to them, we have called off our field demonstration," said a spokesperson of the protesting students.

"We have cancelled our demonstration but we will keep monitoring if the university works to meet our demands," he added. 

One of their demands includes expelling the accused in the case from the Buet after the charge-sheet is submitted.

The spokesperson said a "vested group" tried to mislead everyone over the corpse of Abrar.

"But we have no relation with such groups and we request all not to be confused."

The students also thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the law enforcing agency for the timely arrest of the accused. They also expect that all the accused be punished in time.

Meanwhile, the agitating students will organise a "mass oath" against terrorism and communalism on Buet campus on Wednesday morning.

They said this is their final field programme in the current phase of the movement.

On October 12, the students met the vice-chancellor and announced postponement of their movement for two days because of the Buet admission test.

The Buet administration agreed to students' demand. 

But students argued that they would continue their agitation until the implementation of their 10-point charter of demands.

Abrar Fahad, a resident of Sher-e-Bangla Hall and a second-year student of the Buet, was beaten to death sometime at night between October 6 and 7 allegedly by some Chhatra League men over his suspected affiliation with the Chhatra Shibir – the student front of the Jamaat-e-Islami.

The murder triggered protests at the Buet and other universities, including Dhaka University, Rajshahi University and Jagannath University, demanding capital punishment of the killers.