Chhatra Dal leader assaults two students at Comilla University hall
It was learned that Atiqur Rahman was a student of the 2013–14 academic session in the Economics department and had allegedly been forcibly occupying a seat in Room 5002 of the hall
Two residential students of Shaheed Dhirendranath Datta Hall at Comilla University were allegedly assaulted by Atiqur Rahman, a joint convener of the university's Jatiotabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) unit whose studentship has already ended.
The incident took place at around 11pm last night (19 February) on the rooftop of the hall.
The injured students are Sourav Kabbo, a 2022–23 academic session student of the Accounting and Information Systems department, and Tofael Mahmud Nibir, a student of the Economics department from the same session. Sourav has been admitted to the hospital with injuries.
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Witnesses said an argument broke out between the two students and Atiqur Rahman on the rooftop. At one point, Atiqur allegedly slapped Nibir. When he protested, Atiqur pushed him, causing him to fall and injure his elbow. When Sourav intervened, Atiqur reportedly punched him forcefully in the nose, causing bleeding.
As other hall residents came out and chased him, Atiqur fled the scene.
Describing the incident, Nibir said, "We were sitting downstairs in the hall and chatting when Atiq came and spoke about staying in the hall. I told him he had to follow the rules and come through the provost. Hearing this, he suddenly became agitated, grabbed my collar, and slapped me. Later, he pushed me to the ground. When Sourav protested, he repeatedly punched him in the nose and face. Sourav's nose burst from the blow. When other students came forward, Atiq and Saiful fled."
It was learned that Atiqur Rahman was a student of the 2013–14 academic session in the Economics department. Despite the end of his studentship, he had allegedly been forcibly occupying a seat in Room 5002 of the hall for the past four days. Students also accused him of attempting to accommodate his followers in the hall in violation of rules.
Sajjad Hossain, a resident of Room 5002, said, "He was staying in my room as my guest. I had no idea he would cause such an unwanted incident."
Mustafizur Rahman Shuvo, member secretary of the university's Chhatra Dal unit, termed the incident "unexpected" and "very unfortunate".
"We need to see whether this happened due to a senior-junior conflict. Organisational action will be taken against whoever is found guilty," he said.
Regarding Chhatra Dal activists staying in the hall, he said, "Halls are primarily for students. Juniors will stay where they are supposed to, and seniors will stay where they are supposed to. Everything must run according to hall regulations. Many Chhatra Dal students live outside the hall, and many poor and underprivileged students try to stay in the hall. In the past 18 months, no one has shown an example of anyone staying in the hall solely because of Chhatra Dal affiliation. However, I was not aware of Atiqur's stay in the hall. Organisational action will be taken in this regard."
Attempts to contact the accused, Atiqur Rahman, by phone were unsuccessful, as he repeatedly cut the calls.
Hall Provost Md Joni Alam said, "I have learned about the matter and have already spoken with the house tutors. Appropriate action will be taken."
Regarding seat allocation, he added, "Since I took charge, no one has been officially allocated a seat. Many have contacted me seeking accommodation. We will provide seats only through the proper process. Those who no longer have studentship have no opportunity to obtain a seat in the hall."
