BCL tortures 4 DU students in Abrar style

Within a few months of BUET student Abrar Fahad's death from Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) beating, four Dhaka University students have allegedly been tortured nightlong in a dormitory by the student wing of ruling party Awami League. 

After torture, the injured were handed over to Shahbagh Police by hall administration and university proctorial team.

Police, later, took them to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) for treatment.

The incident took place in Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall on Tuesday night.

A source in BCL said a second year student was called to hall guest room around 11:30pm for questioning about his alleged link with Islami Chhatra Shibir.

The hall unit BCL men beat up him when he refused his connection with the student wing of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

Three other students were also called there as their names were found in call list of the former.

During this, vice-president of dissolved committee of the hall unit BCL Anwar Hossain, joint general secretary Amir Hamza, hall union vice-president Saifullah Abbasi and several others BCL leaders beat up the students with rod and stick, leaving them seriously injured, the source said.

Witnesses said Md Mukim Chowdhury, second year student of Tourism and Hospitality department, was called to regular 'guest room' of hall BCL around 11:00pm on suspicion of Shibir activist.

Anwar Hossain and Amir Hamza's followers first mentally pressured Mukim. Then, they mercilessly beat up him with stick, stamp and rod when he maintained denial of any link with Shibir.

Later, Political Science department's third year student Sanwar Hossain was also called there seeing his name in call list of Mukim's mobile phone. BCL leaders also severely beat up him. At one stage of beating, they both fell onto the ground after being failed to endure torturing.

After a while, Minhaz Uddin and Afsar Uddin, second year students of Islamic History and Culture, and Arabic departments respectively, were brought to the guest room. Torture on them by BCL leaders continued till 2am.

After 2am, DU protorial team handed over the tortured victims to the Shahbagh Police, and later they were admitted to DMCH.

About torture, BCL leaders claimed that they recovered some books relating to Shibir from the four students but could not mention name of any book or give evidences.

Though Chhatra League took them to guest room suspecting Shibir activists but failed to give evidences that support link of Shibir's politics.

Asked about beating, hall unit BCL joint general secretary Amir Hamza told Jago News that they just questioned the students but did not beat up.

Amir Hamza, however, was temporarily expelled from DU unit BCL over beating a businessman for not giving extortion at DMCH.

Vice president Anwar Hossain inadvertently admitted of torturing the students while talking to journalists, saying, "Beat up much but none of them admitted. Did not mention name of none."

Shahbagh Police Station officer in-charge Abul Hasan said four students of a DU hall were handed over to police station around 3am. The university still now did not make any complaints regarding this, he added. 

Declining to be named, a BCL leader told Jago News that Saifullah Abbasi Ananta, former member of BCL central committee and Zahurul Haque Hall  union VP, and Shaheen Alam, organizing secretary of the hall unit BCL, several times hammered the students to make them admit their links with Shibir.

DU proctor professor Dr AK Golam Rabbani said they were informed about the matter by hall administration, and measures have already taken.

Action must be taken against the four beaten students if they are found involved with anti-state and discipline works, Rabbani said.

Asked how BCL leaders beat up students despite hall and university administration exist there, he said that those violate discipline must face action.

Earlier at night of October 6 last year, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) unit BCL men allegedly beat up Abrar Fahad, 21, a second year student of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) department of the university, to death in Sher-e-Bangla Hall over a facebook post where he criticized some deals between Bangladesh and India.