Shibir mob attack on CU assistant professor Roman: Progressive teacher’s association condemns and expresses concern

❐ BD Digest Desk

The Bangladesh Public Universities Progressive Teachers’ Association has expressed strong condemnation and deep concern over the mob terrorist attack on Hasan Mohammad Roman, assistant professor of the Law Department of Chittagong University.

In a statement, the organization said that Chittagong University is one of the oldest and most traditional higher education institutions in the country, where there has been coexistence and mutual respect among teachers, students, officials and employees for a long time. But the mob attack on law department teacher Hasan Mohammad Roman while he was on duty at the undergraduate admission test on January 10, 2025, has seriously questioned the peaceful and safe environment of the university.

The statement said that universities are a place of free thought, freedom of expression and intellectual practice. Violence to suppress dissent is unacceptable in any way. Such incidents are a direct attack on academic freedom, the right to expression and democratic values.

The organization further noted that it is the collective responsibility of the state, administration, and society to ensure the safety of teachers, students, officials, and employees in all educational institutions of the country, including Chittagong University. But this recent attack proves that security measures in educational institutions are still not adequate.

In the statement, the organization raised three urgent demands. The demands are:

A transparent and impartial investigation committee must be quickly formed into the attack; the perpetrators must be identified immediately, brought to justice, and given exemplary punishment; and overall security measures must be strengthened on the university campus to prevent such heinous incidents from recurring in the future.

Finally, the statement called on the entire university family, including teachers, students, and others, to unite in resisting mob terrorism and all forms of terrorist activities in the interest of protecting the dignity, freedom, and security of the country’s educational institutions.

The statement was signed by Dr. Mahbub Alam Pradeep, office secretary of Bangladesh Public University Progressive Teachers’ Association and associate professor of the Department of Public Administration, Rajshahi University.

The statement was released today, Sunday, January 11th.

 

What happened

The terrorist leaders of the Islamic Chhatra Shibir Panel, a secret terrorist organization of the war criminal party Jamaat-e-Islami, dragged and beat Hasan Mohammad Roman, an assistant professor of the law department at Chittagong University (CU), with the tag of an Awami League member, and handed him over to the proctor’s office. The heinous incident took place at 12 noon yesterday during the first-year undergraduate admission test at the Faculty of Law.

Assistant Professor Hasan Mohammad Roman was serving as an examiner in the gallery of the Faculty of Law that day. Upon receiving this news, the terrorists of the secret organization Shibir took up position in the Dean’s office of the Faculty of Law. Sensing the attack, when the teacher Hasan Mohammad Roman tried to leave the scene, the Shibir terrorists chased him and started beating him. After beating him in this way, they took the teacher to the proctor’s office.

Multiple videos circulating on social media show the teacher being dragged into a rickshaw by the Shibir terrorists, who then took the rickshaw to the proctor’s office.

The incident was led by Shibir leader Abdullah Al Noman. This Shibir leader, the secretary of the Chaksur office, has been continuously inciting through his Facebook posts. Even after physically assaulting and beating a teacher, the administration has not taken any action against him. There is widespread condemnation and criticism regarding this. The university administration has not responded to the question of who gave him the legal right to beat, harass, and take away a teacher’s mobile phone.

Denying the beating of the teacher, Shibir leader Noman, who has extremist and militant views, said, “We got the news while visiting the law faculty. We went there after getting the news. When he heard about our presence, he felt pain while running behind the law faculty gallery. No one was hurt.”

Legalizing the incident of teacher harassment, Chaksur’s “Law and Human Rights” editor Fazle Rabbi said, “Several teachers here were against the July spirit, including Assistant Professor Roman. He took action against students while serving as an assistant proctor during the Awami League era. While he was a tutor at Shah Amanat Hall, he turned the hall into an Awami League hideout.”

Assistant Professor Hassan Mohammad Roman, who was physically and mentally harassed, said while in the proctor’s office that he was attacked by a purposeful mob.

He said, “I came to know about the presence of the mob while I was in the examination hall and left the exam hall. Then the Chaksu leaders shouted and shouted, so I left. False allegations are being made against me. In July-August, I did not go out for a single day, nor was I on any duty. I did not even hold a silent procession. I was not even a member of the student expulsion board. I did not file a case against anyone while serving as an assistant proctor.”

The university administration remained silent despite the announcement of mob violence.

Proctor Hossain Shaheed Sarwardy, justifying the planned mob violence by Shibir terrorists, said, “There was no mob attack against the teacher. He is a ‘soldier of Hasina’s government’, so he was afraid that he might be mobbed. So he tried to escape. If we had informed the university administration about the security threat in advance, we could have prepared so that the teacher would not be defamed.”

Proctor Hossain Shahid Sarwardy avoided answering questions about what action he would take against them now that he has been beaten and defamed.

Talking to several teachers of Chittagong University, it is known that Assistant Professor Hasan Mohammad Roman was very talented in his academic career. He did not get an appointment through the identity of Chhatra League or Awami League, nor did he take party privileges. This talented teacher, who won a gold medal during his academic career at the university, has passed BCS (Food) and has also served as an executive magistrate with dedication.

His colleagues said that this planned attack by the secret organization Shibir was mainly aimed at removing him from the university.