CU campus tense again amid BCL row

Tension gripped the Chittagong University campus with three factions of Bangladesh Chhatra League trying to gain control of a residential hall that has just been reopened.

Islami Chhatra Shibir’s ultimatum regarding the allotment of dormitory seats to ‘legitimate’ students fuelled the tension.

In the face of the ultimatum, the three factions of Chhatra League, student front of the ruling Awami League, urged their leaders and activists to remain united but persisted with their efforts to seize control of the Shah Amanat Hall.

The dormitory was opened on Wednesday morning, 10 months after it was closed following the murder of a person in a Shibir-Chhatra League clash.

While one BCL group known as CFC occupied the hall around noon, another, called VX, tried to dislodge the other.
Police arrived soon and took control of the situation.

Hathazari Police Station OC Ismail Hossain said additional forces had been were deployed on the campus on Wednesday night.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, while on a visit to the university on Nov 12, had expressed her annoyance at the factional feud within the Chittagong University unit of the Chhatra League.

She had asked two leaders of her party -- Chittagong city committee president ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury and general secretary AJM Nasir Uddin -- to settle the differences.

Chittagong University had often been tensed over the past three years because of the BCL’s internal conflict.