Cuet VC says he left campus due to illness, will return after recovery
The vice-chancellor said he fell ill after being confined without electricity from 12pm on Monday (12 October). Several others who were staying there also became unwell, he added.
Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (Cuet) Vice-Chancellor Professor Sheikh Shariful Alam has said he neither resigned nor agreed to leave the campus permanently, insisting that he left only because of illness.
In a protest letter sent to The Business Standard, the vice-chancellor said he intended to resume his duties at the university once he recovered.
He issued the statement in response to reports by several media outlets claiming that he had resigned or had been allowed to leave the campus on condition that he would not return.
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According to the protest letter, the vice-chancellor was escorted from his office in the university's administrative building yesterday (13 October) in the presence of the Chattogram deputy commissioner and superintendent of police, after being confined there for around 30 hours.
He said some media reports claimed that he had been allowed to leave only after agreeing never to return to the campus, while others reported that he had resigned.
Shariful said he had made no such statement or declaration. He described the reports as false and baseless, saying they had been published without seeking his comments.
The vice-chancellor said he fell ill after being confined without electricity from 12pm on Monday (12 October). Several others who were staying there also became unwell, he added.
According to him, around 11 people fell ill during the period. Two former students of the university also became sick on Monday night, and one of them had to be admitted to hospital.
He said he later received treatment at a hospital on the advice of a government doctor and the civil surgeon.
The vice-chancellor said he was not in a condition to speak when he was taken out of the campus and that he remained ill and under close medical observation.
"I will resume my duties at the university after I recover, Insha Allah," he said.
Shariful said he had come to Chattogram to fulfil the responsibility entrusted to him by the state, not for any personal interest, specific agenda or political purpose.
He said his priority was to carry out his responsibilities at the university and ensure that its institutional activities continued.
Addressing the protesting students, the vice-chancellor urged them not to jeopardise their education and academic activities by allowing themselves to be influenced or used by any self-interested group.
He also called on the students to return to classes soon, referring to them as his younger brothers and sisters from his alma mater.
The vice-chancellor further urged media outlets to verify information, seek comments from the people concerned and follow the principles of objective journalism before publishing reports.
He also requested that any incorrect or misleading information already published be corrected to reflect what he described as the actual circumstances.
