Students detain, hand over CoU Deputy Registrar to police

District Correspondent Cumilla
Published: 14 January 2025, 09:58 AM
Students detain, hand over CoU Deputy Registrar to police

The members of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement detained and handed over Comilla University’s Deputy Registrar, Mohammad Zakir Hossain, to the police over his alleged role in the attacks on students during the July-August mass uprising. The students turned him over to the Comilla Sadar South Model Police Station on Monday afternoon.

Earlier, on Sunday afternoon, university student and banned student organization Chhatra League member Arnab Singh Roy was beaten by the students and later handed over to the police.

According to sources, Zakir Hossain was in the university's administrative building when, around 5:30 pm, students took him to the office of the university's Proctor. Afterward, other administrative officers met with the Proctor for discussions. With assistance from the Proctor and other officials, the students handed over Hossain to the police.

On September 18 of last year, a case was filed at the Comilla Sadar South Model Police Station over various allegations, including armed attacks on students and the explosion of cocktails on campus during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. The case was filed by Md Shakhawat Hossain, a former student from the university’s Pharmacy Department, who claims to be the coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement at CoU. The case mentions 35 named individuals and 50-60 unnamed suspects. Zakir Hossain is listed as the 11th accused in the case.

Arnab Singh Roy, who was assaulted on Sunday, is the 12th accused in the same case. The main accused is the former Vice-Chancellor of the university, AFM Abdul Moin. Despite being an accused in the case, Zakir Hossain had continued to attend his office regularly.

Speaking on the matter, Md Abu Raihan, Convener of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement in Comilla, said, “Zakir Hossain took a stand against the students during the movement. He tried to suppress the student protests in favor of the Awami League. He is an accused in the case related to the attacks on students. Therefore, with the support of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and the general students, he was handed over to the police.”

The university’s Proctor, Md Abdul Hakim, stated that Zakir Hossain came to his office along with other administrative officers. After discussing the matter with everyone, Hossain himself expressed his willingness to be handed over to the police. Police then took him into custody.

The Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Comilla Sadar South Model Police Station, Muhammad Rofiqul Islam, confirmed that Zakir Hossain is the 11th accused in the case related to the assault on students. The case is currently being investigated by the District Police’s Detective Branch (DB). He added that Hossain has been handed over to the DB for further investigation.