Begum Rokeya University dismisses 11, including three teachers, over Abu Sayeed killing

Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur has permanently dismissed 11 teachers and officials over the killing of student Abu Sayeed during the July 2024 uprising.

Those dismissed include three teachers, among them a former proctor, and eight other university employees.

The university published the list on Thursday, a day after its Syndicate approved the dismissals.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Md Shawkat Ali confirmed the decision to Daily Waadaa.

“The decision was taken at the 123rd meeting of the Syndicate, the university’s highest policymaking body,” Shawkat said.

The dismissed teachers are former mathematics associate professor Mashiur Rahman; Public Administration Associate Professor Asaduzzaman Mondal, also known as Asad; and Political Science Associate Professor Shariful Islam, a former proctor.

The eight other employees are assistant registrars Rafiul Hasan Russell and Hafizur Rahman Tufan; office assistant-cum-computer operator Mahbubar Rahman Babu; Section Officer Moniruzzaman Palash; MLSS Mohammad Nurunnabi Mondal; security guard Nur Alam Mia; MLSS AKM Amir Hossain; and Anwar Parvez Apple, a contractual employee at the Proctor’s Office.

The action follows a verdict by the International Crimes Tribunal-2 in the case over Abu Sayeed’s killing.

The tribunal handed down varying terms of rigorous and simple imprisonment to people accused in the case.

A three-member bench led by Tribunal Chairman Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury delivered the verdict on April 9.

Shawkat said the university took disciplinary action after receiving the full text of the tribunal judgment.

Abu Sayeed, a student of BRUR’s English department, was shot by police in Rangpur on July 16, 2024, during protests over the government job quota system.

Footage of Sayeed standing with his arms outstretched moments before police opened fire became one of the defining images of the uprising.

His killing triggered widespread anger as the student protests intensified across the country.

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