Activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal clashed inside the provost’s office at Dhaka University’s Dr Muhammad Shahidullah Hall on Sunday, as tensions flared over allegations that two guests in a hall union leader’s room had engaged in “homosexual activity.”
Several activists were reportedly injured in the confrontation, with both student groups accusing the other of initiating the violence.
The dispute centres on allegations involving two guests who had been in the room of Shahidullah Hall Students’ Union Assistant General Secretary Ibrahim Khalil. Hall authorities had formed a committee to investigate the allegations.
Witnesses said tensions erupted at the provost’s office while the committee was conducting its inquiry and later escalated into a physical confrontation.
Shahidullah Hall Chhatra Dal Convener Mosaddeq Al Haque Shanto accused Shibir of trying to shield the AGS and of making false claims over the incident.
He alleged that CCTV footage had been deleted a day earlier, making it impossible to establish whether the AGS was present at the relevant time.
Shanto said tensions rose inside the provost’s office as activists from both groups gathered there. He alleged that Shibir activists attacked Chhatra Dal members outside the office and assaulted them again after they entered.
Several Chhatra Dal activists were injured, he claimed.
Shahidullah Hall Students’ Union General Secretary Toukir Hasan offered a sharply different account, accusing Chhatra Dal of carrying out the attacks.
Toukir said the hall union AGS and his roommate had been summoned by the investigation committee. Soon after proceedings began, he alleged, two Chhatra Dal members entered the room while the committee was meeting.
House tutors subsequently asked everyone to leave the provost’s office, he said.
According to Toukir, Chhatra Dal activists then gathered outside the office while Shibir members remained on the second floor. The confrontation escalated after Chhatra Dal accused a Shibir activist of photographing them, he said.
Toukir alleged that the activist was assaulted over the accusation, forcing Shibir members to take shelter inside the provost’s office. Chhatra Dal members attacked again when someone attempted to record what was happening on video, he claimed.
He also questioned the conduct of five house tutors who were present during the confrontation.
Both Shibir and Chhatra Dal subsequently claimed that Shahidullah Hall Provost Professor Md Aminul Islam Bhuiyan had resigned immediately after the incident. The claim, however, could not be independently confirmed, as the provost did not respond to repeated attempts to contact him.
Dhaka University Proctor Israfil Ratan described the incident as a "temporary flare-up between the two groups" and said university authorities had dispatched a mobile team of assistant proctors after being informed by the hall provost.
--