Students are getting increasingly involved in crimes. It worries Dhaka University, sparks safety concerns

In most cases, the students in question are registered members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League

A recent uptick in criminal activities perpetrated by several Dhaka University students has made the authorities and general students concerned about their safety and the institution's reputation.

In most cases, the students in question are registered members of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the ruling party's associate organisation for students, which often makes headlines for violence and overzealous activities of its members.

However, the Chhatra League leadership at the university has yet to acknowledge the matter, much less act on it.

Although the trend of crimes has been glaringly visible for quite some time, the back-to-back incidents of robbing of a couple of Tk 22,000 and their bank card in the Central Shaheed Minar area on Feb 4 and the mugging of a covered van driver at the same place the following evening have flung the issue back into spotlight.

The assaulted couple started  a case at Shahbagh Police Station. Fahim Tajwar Joy and Sajid Ahmed, students of history and information science and library management departments, were among the 14 accused in the case. Fahim and Sajid are Chhatra League's Surya Sen Hall unit members.

Police caught three of the perpetrators red-handed, all Dhaka University students, involved in the covered van incident.

The perpetrators are Fazle Navid Onon, Sadik Ahammad, and Md Rahat Rahman – all students of the 2021-2022 academic year.

Fazle and Sadik are Chhatra League's Bijoy Ekattor Hall unit members.

Some of the other notable recent events are

- On Jan 17, Tajir Arafat Tushar, joint general secretary of DU's Kabi Jasimuddin Hall unit Chhatra League, was arrested on charges of assaulting, harassing and mugging a couple on the campus-adjacent Suhrawardy Udyan two nights before. The other accused in the case, Rahul Roy, a former member of the Chhatra League, has since been absconding. The university, under pressure, suspended Tushar and Rahul.

- The university on Jan 25 expelled Najmul Alam Jim, a student of the social welfare department, for harassing a female student at a private university near Raju sculpture on the campus.

- At least 15 people were accused, including Najmul Hasan Rupu and Tarique Hasan, students of the Institute of Information Technology and Nutrition and Food Science Institute, respectively, in a case of extorting Tk 32,000 from a driver of a car on the campus on Feb 7.

Najmul is the deputy secretary for human resource development of the university unit of Chhatra League, while Tarique is a member of the Fazlul Huq Hall unit of the organisation. Both denied the accusation of assault. However, they conceded that junior members of their group got a portion of the sum the driver gave to rickshaw pullers injured in an accident.

So far, the university has expelled 113 more students accused of different crimes.

General students have started to voice their concerns about the trend of crimes on campus by their fellow students. 

The campus lapsed into complete anarchy, and those who are supposed to deal with it keep their eyes and ears shut. I discourage my relatives and acquaintances from visiting campus anymore.

Raihan Kamal, a student, shared on a Facebook post

A Facebook post by Raihan Kamal, a university student, went viral recently. It reads: "More than 100 people, outsiders and students alike, were assaulted on the campus in the last few days. A 'gang culture' somehow crept into the campus, especially after the pandemic, and the students who absorbed this culture are getting involved in all sorts of criminal activities like mugging, harassing and abusing women, assaulting people for apparently no reason and drug dealings."

"Simply, the campus lapsed into complete anarchy, and those who are supposed to deal with it keep their eyes and ears shut. I discourage my relatives and acquaintances from visiting the campus anymore."

Julius Caesar Talukder, the founder of Dhaka University Nirapottya Mancha, a platform which advises students about personal security matters, accused the proctor's office, which is in charge of ensuring campus security, of failing to protect general people and students.

"In my experience, the proctor's office doesn't care much even if you submit a written complaint. I know a few dozen students were mugged in the last couple of years, and none of the incidents was investigated. This culture of impunity is only fuelling the trends and scale of crimes inside the campus," he said.

DU Proctor Dr Golam Rabbani, however, resorted to victim-blaming instead.

"In case of a criminal offence, our [DU authorities] procedure is we ask the criminal justice system to take over the issue. But in my experience, hardly anyone wants to lodge a formal complaint. We learn about such unreported crimes on the news media, but we can't investigate these incidents further due to the lack of chain of custody of the crimes."

WHY ARE DU STUDENTS GETTING INVOLVED IN CRIMES?

General students on the campus have a common perception that the students getting involved in crimes are primarily from their first and second years. Some students on a study break are also found involved in such crimes.

Some of the resident students interviewed for this article categorically said first-year students who were able to manage a seat in the so-called mass rooms are being encouraged by the senior Chhatra League leaders to form gangs via WhatsApp and Messenger to patrol the campus and the adjacent Suhrawardy Udyan and getting themselves involved in crimes like drug-dealing, mugging and harassing women.

The members of these gangs identify themselves as 'nightcrawlers'.

Julius Caesar said the motive for encouraging these naïve teenagers to get involved in crimes was later to use them as muscle for Chhatra League leaders.

"These leaders praise these kids 'for their bravery' instead of rebuking them when they commit a criminal offence. As a result, these naïve freshmen start losing moral integrity in the process," he said.

Accusing the last Chhatra League central committee for its direct endorsement of these known perpetrators, Julius Caesar, who himself was a former general secretary of DU's Salimullah Muslim Hall Chhatra League unit, said a known mugger feels emboldened when the people in power endorse their activities.

"It's quite simple, isn't it? If you let some known criminals in a political organisation, they will feel emboldened and try to take advantage of their newfound power and position," he said.   

As far as I know, a few dozen DU students were mugged in the last couple of years, and none of the incidents was investigated. This culture of impunity is only fuelling the trends and scale of crimes inside the campus.

Julius Caesar Talukder, founder of Dhaka University Nirapotta Mancha

Dr Zia Rahman, a professor of DU's criminology department, narrowed down his focus on the rampant usage of recreational drugs on campus.

"If you are an addict, you need a constant source of money to buy drugs and fuel your addiction. The addicted students, for this sole reason, are resorting to criminal activities. They require institutional counselling, plain and simple."

The criminology professor also blamed the police for their negligence in securing the campus premises, which the law enforcement agency vehemently rejected.

"We scrutinise every reported incident and patrol the entire campus area. We are doing our best," said Nur Mohammad, chief of Shahbagh Police Station.

Proctor Dr Rabbani feels the political organisations sheltering these so-called criminals must change their directions to address this growing trend of crimes, and the families of these students must stage an intervention.

"Families and friends should intervene when they see their sons and friends going off track. If they require counselling, families should address it."

WHAT STUDENT ORGANISATIONS SAY

The allegation that most of the students involved in these crimes carry BCL identity is very old.

Ordinary students and even leaders of the university's other student organisations believe that the ruling Chhatra League is perpetuating these "misdeeds" for their own sake.

Deepak Sheel, general secretary of a Bangladesh Students' Union faction, said a student enters DU with many dreams, but their stay in the common and guest rooms of the halls in the early days ruins their dreams.

He believes that students who stay in the common rooms are forced to engage in criminal activities.

"Those involved in terrorism, extortion and mugging are given posts instead of facing action for repeated crimes. In some cases, the BCL took immediate action but later rewarded them. We have several examples of that.

"Chhatra League, the ruling party's student wing, has been in power for a long time. At this time, they have gone rogue. Chhatra League has become a breeding ground for terrorists and criminals, a haven for terrorists."

Complaints on security issues to a committee on keeping the academic environment on campus fell in deaf ears, Deepak alleged.

Ariful Islam, general secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal's DU unit, claimed BCL leaders help students commit these crimes.

"Everyone knows that Chhatra League is a terrorist organisation. Extortion, tender manipulation and mugging are their main occupations. It's nothing unusual."

BCL President Saddam Hussain refuted the allegations and said that no one had the scope to do such criminal activities in BCL.

"We want smart student politicians who will work with the students and maintain an excellent academic environment.

"If anyone wants to use student politics to legitimise their criminal activities or use it as a money-making machine, Bangladesh Chhatra League will take organisational action against them. There is no scope for such political activists to come to the political combination of BCL."

Saddam, who was made the organisation's top leader recently, said they would only include in committees those who have a clean image, do student politics by maintaining ideological unity, and those who do smart student politics.

Asked why the BCL is not expelling those the university has already removed, Saddam said that the administration and the law enforcers were conducting the operation in response to a call by the BCL.

[Writing in English by Adil Mahmood and Arshi Fatiha Quazi]