Jahangirnagar University campus in turmoil over attempted rape: Proctor declared undesirable, office locked

University Representative

The Jahangirnagar University (JU) campus has been in turmoil over the administration’s failure to arrest the accused in the rape and attempted murder of a student on Tuesday night, May 12. The students had given a 48-hour ultimatum, but when the accused was not arrested, the protesting students declared the proctor’s team ‘undesirable’ and locked the proctor’s office on Saturday (May 16).

Details of the incident: Around 11 pm on the same day, a student (51st batch) was walking on the road adjacent to the abandoned Fazilatunnesa Hall on the campus. The accused allegedly followed her, tied a net around her neck, dragged her into the forest, tried to rape her and also tried to kill her. When the student screamed, people nearby came and rescued her. The university administration filed a case against the unknown accused at Ashulia police station on Wednesday. The suspect’s picture was seen in the CCTV footage and the police have announced a reward for information, seeking public assistance.

Students, especially female students, have been protesting since the student movement and demand incident. After the protest on Wednesday night, they raised six demands in a meeting with the administration and gave a 48-hour ultimatum to arrest the accused. The demands include:

• Prompt arrest and exemplary punishment of the accused
• Resignation of the Proctoral Body
• Strengthening security on campus
• Effective measures to prevent sexual harassment
• Recruitment of female members in the Quick Response Team, etc.

After the ultimatum expired, the students held an overnight sit-in in front of the Vice-Chancellor’s residence from 2 am on Friday. On Saturday morning, in a press conference, the Proctor, Professor Dr. AKM Rashidul Alam and the proctorial team were declared undesirable. Later, the Proctor broke the lock of the office door and hung new locks and announced the blockade of the new administrative building from tomorrow, Sunday.

Students have alleged that the administration has concealed information about the incident, created confusion and cheated the students. The administration’s position is that the proctor has said that a case has been filed and the police will quickly identify the accused. Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan said that if any negligence on the part of the proctorial body is found after an investigation, action will be taken. However, the students have rejected this assurance.

The university administration has taken several decisions to strengthen security on the campus in this incident, but the students are not satisfied with it. The agitation is ongoing and they have announced to continue the program until their demands are met. Incidentally, there have been repeated complaints about the safety of female students at Jahangirnagar University. This incident has raised new questions about the overall security system of the campus. The police are continuing the investigation and have sought public cooperation in seeking information about the suspect.