Student ‘injured in stabbing’ at Chittagong University forestry area

The area has no security personnel, CCTV cameras, or adequate lighting, students say

A Chittagong University student has reportedly been stabbed and injured by an unidentified assailant on the campus grounds.

The knife attack took place in the forestry area of the university on Wednesday night.

The victim, SM Faisal Hasan, is a fourth-year student at the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences.

Speaking on Thursday, Faisal said he had been sitting with his wife in the forestry area and noticed two suspicious individuals consistently staring at them.

When he called one over to ask what they wanted, the man claimed he was looking for a cow and turned aggressive.

Faisal then phoned the vice-president of Masterda Suriya Sen Hall and several other students.

During the ensuing altercation, the suspect suddenly tried to bolt, prompting Faisal to grab him out of suspicion.

At that point the man pulled out a sharp weapon and attacked him. "He struck me repeatedly. My right arm muscles, the area between my fingers, and several other parts of my body were seriously wounded," Faisal said.

The victim added that the attacker also aimed for his neck, but Faisal managed to block the blow with his hand.

When other students rushed to the scene, the attacker fled down a path leading to a neighbouring village, leaving a shoe behind, which the students preserved as evidence.

Though only one person was directly involved the attack, two had been seen loitering in the area beforehand, Faisal said.

Suriya Sen Hall Union General Secretary Sadman Al Tasin noted that the campus location was pitch-black in the dark and lacked any security guards, CCTV cameras or adequate lighting.

He added that students have long been demanding tighter security in that specific zone, but no effective measures have been implemented yet.

Dr Muhammad Tipu Sultan of the university medical centre confirmed that a student arrived for emergency treatment on Wednesday night.

He noted that the youth had a knife wound above his right elbow, which required a stitch due to its depth, alongside several smaller cuts on the fingers of both hands.

Assistant Proctor Prof Md Kamrul Hossain said a university team inspected the site immediately after learning about the incident.

He explained that they could not gather detailed information at the time due to the victim's physical condition, but proctorial body members plan to quiz Faisal on Thursday to map out the details.

“The attacker has not yet been identified but efforts are under way based on the student's account. The suspect is preliminarily believed to be an outsider," he said.