KUET campus closed until Feb 28 following clashes

Law enforcers have taken up positions surrounding the main gates of the campus on Wednesday afternoon and the military has been seen patrolling the area as well

The Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, or KUET, administration has decided to close the campus until Feb 28 in the wake of clashes between the Chhatra Dal and the Anti-discrimination Student Movement.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the university syndicate on Wednesday afternoon, said university spokesman Shahaduzzaman Sheikh.

Law enforcers have taken up positions surrounding the main gates of the campus on Wednesday afternoon. The military has been seen patrolling the area as well. No classes or exams were held.

Students locked all the administrative and academic buildings in the afternoon. Some students were seen leaving the residential halls.

Abu Afsan Md Yahya, Chhatra Dal central senior vice president, claimed at an emergency press conference from the Khulna Press Club that no member of the BNP’s student wing was involved in the attack on students.

Five people were detained in connection with the clashes on Tuesday night, but no case has been filed against them, according to Md Nazmul Hasan Rajeeb, additional deputy commissioner (north) of Khulna Metropolitan Police.

Students who spoke on condition of anonymity said that they had given an ultimatum to agree to their demands by 1pm on Wednesday, but the administration had not taken any action on the matter.

That is why the general students locked the administrative and academic buildings of the different university departments indefinitely, they said.

Students held a press conference on Tuesday night to put forward a five-point list of demands. They called for student politics be banned from KUET completely, for all those involved in the attack on students be brought to justice, and for the university’s vice chancellor, pro vice chancellor, and director of student welfare to resign.

The students said they would boycott all classes and examinations until their demands were met.

They gathered outside the KUET Central Medical Center from 9am to push for the five-point list of demands. Vice-Chancellor Mohammad Mashud is undergoing treatment on the second floor of the building.

Shahaduzzaman Sheikh, spokesman for the university, said that Mashud has been there since he fell ill on Tuesday night.

He said that an emergency syndicate meeting is underway regarding the situation at the university. The vice-chancellor joined the syndicate meeting virtually. Shahaduzzaman did not elaborate on the decisions taken at the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Chhatra Dal’s KUET unit held an emergency press conference at the Khulna Press Club on Wednesday afternoon regarding the situation at KUET.

Chhatra Dal's leader Abu Afsan read out a written statement at the press conference.

He said, "Chhatra Dal is not involved in the attack on students. We are also demanding the punishment of those involved in the attack."