Protesting SUST students to go on hunger strike unless VC resigns

The protesting students of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) on Tuesday (18 January) threatened to go for an indefinite hunger strike if  Vice-Chancellor (VC) Professor Farid Uddin Ahmed does not step down by Wednesday noon.

Mohaiminul Bashar, on behalf of the agitating students, made the announcement at a press conference on Tuesday night at around 10.30pm.

"We will continue our sit-in protest till 12pm tomorrow and if the vice-chancellor shuns the demand to resign from his post by that time, we will go for an indefinite hunger strike," he said.

Meanwhile, he urged everyone to not be confused by the rumours that are being spread regarding the movement.

On Tuesday afternoon, a delegation of teachers led by the SUST Teachers Association President DrTulsi Kumar Das met the protesting students with a proposal for dialogue to resolve the issue.

However, the students refused the proposal, stressing their three-point demand, which includes the resignation of the VC. They also demanded a public apology from the VC.

The student protests on the campus began Thursday (13 January) last week as the 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 stun grenades to disperse the students who blocked the VC in his office.  The police attack left more than 40 students and teachers injured, said the protesting students.

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 agitated students went on protest.

According to students, police attacked and shot at the students on the instructions of the VC.

However, 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.

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