Rajshahi:The authorities at Rajshahi University have relieved Prof Md Mahbubar Rahman, the provost of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Hall, of his duties following allegations of inaction and deletion of CCTV footage related to an attack on journalists, allegedly by Chhatra Dal activists.
According to United News of Bangladesh, this decision was announced by Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Faridul Islam during a meeting with protesting journalists and students in the VC's conference room at around 1 am on Tuesday. The university has assured the protesters that action will be taken against those involved in the attack within three days.
The Vice-Chancellor stated, "Respecting the sentiments of the journalists, we have removed the provost of Zia Hall. The remaining issues will be investigated and punishment will be ensured based on the findings." The protesting journalists had placed six demands before the university administration, out of which the demand for removing the hall provost was accepted. The administration has requested three days to address the remaining demands.
Journalists are demanding that those involved in the attack be identified through a fair investigation within the given timeframe and punished according to university rules. They also alleged that their request for CCTV footage of the attack was denied, and the footage was subsequently deleted. However, the hall provost has denied these allegations.
A five-member committee has been established to investigate the attack on journalists, which was allegedly carried out by activists of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) on the campus. The incident occurred on Sunday, resulting in injuries to 10 individuals, including four journalists, in front of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Hall at around 8:30 pm.