By IANS,
Dhaka : Scores of students have been hurt in campus violence in three universities and several educational institutions across Bangladesh triggered by the political changes following last month’s general election.
Gunfights were reported by the media Sunday as violence that began in the Dhaka University spread to Chittagong and Jehangirnagar universities.
With university campuses traditionally playing the key role in any political movement, the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked its Awami League affiliated Chhatra League to exercise restraint, the New Age newspaper said Sunday.
The main fight is between cadres of Chhatra League and the Islami Chhatra Shibir, affliliated to the Jamaat-e-Islami that had enjoyed official patronage when the Jamaat was part of the ruling coalition led by former premier Khaleda Zia.
Forty students were hurt in Jehangirnagar university and 30 at Jagannath University in Dhaka.
Students in Chittagong University had laid siege to the vice-chancellor’s house from morning till night.
The Chittagong University vice-chancellor, Badiul Alam, had been confined to his house till 9.30 p.m. by the activists of the ruling Awami League’s associate body, Bangladesh Chhatra League, for his “failure to act against violence by Shibir activists”.
The government had asked the police to get cracking and not spare even the Chhatra League students if found engaging in violence.
The government has also asked the law enforcers to take action against troublemakers on the campuses without considering their political links.