Dhaka, Feb 19 (IANS) The violent clashes at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) in Bangladesh since Tuesday has left more than 100 students injured, local media reported on Wednesday.
The student outfits backing different political ideologies and affiliations had clashed over the issue of banning student politics on the university campus.
Leaders of Jatiyotabadi Chatro Dol (JCD), the student wing of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), addressed media on Wednesday evening, accusing the Student Against Discrimination (SAD) and Bangladesh Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, of initiating the recent attack at the KUET campus.
The unrest in the campus aggravated with protestors halting the functioning of the institute and all academic activities. The students are also demanding the resignation of Vice Chancellor Mohammad Mashud.
During the protest, students locked up Mashud and other senior officials in KUET campus on Tuesday night. The protesting students also engaged in a physical altercation with the VC and reportedly hurled shoes at him, local media reported.
Cadres of JCD and SAD have been involved in several clashes at KUET. SAD is the student outfit that was behind the nationwide protest and violence in Bangladesh in July and August 2024 that led to the coup against former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
It is alleged that JCD activists distributed leaflets at the campus on Monday supporting resumption of student politics on campus. SAD, on the other hand, responded with a parade in the university with various slogans for keeping the ban on student politics. They chanted slogans like “No place for student politics at KUET” and “We want a politics-free campus”. This led to a clash between both the groups which left several injured.
–IANS
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