JU BCL suspends leader for assaulting journalist

The Bangladesh Chhatra League’s (BCL) Jahangirnagar University chapter has suspended one of its leaders for assaulting a journalist on the campus.

A group of BCL activists led by Religious Affairs Secretary Mahitosh Roy Titu attacked bdnews24.com’s university correspondent Shafiqul Islam on Wednesday.

The ruling party’s student affiliate suspended Titu on Thursday over the incident.

Shafiqul, who is now being treated in a hospital in Savar, said on Wednesday that he saw some BCL activists taking a boy and a girl from the gate to a guardroom around 9pm.

The activists of ruling Awami League's student affiliate started beating the boy up at  one stage, Shafiqul said.

He said around 10 BCL activists led by Titu attacked him when he tried to save the boy.

He said the BCL activists hit him on the head and back with iron rods.

Meanwhile, students and teachers of the Journalism and Media Studies Department demonstrated on the campus on Thursday in protest against the attack.

“If the university authorities fail to bring the perpetrators to justice, then they should ban reporting on the campus,” said Rakib Ahmed, a teacher at the department.