At least 10 people, including a journalist, were injured as activists of Rajshahi University unit Chhatra Dal clashed with other students on Sunday morning after the latter broke open the lock on the office of the university treasurer.
The treasurer was confined by Chhatra Dal activists to press their demand to include first-year students in the RUCSU election voter list, our RU correspondent reported from the spot.
Among the injured were RU Chhatra Dal Joint General Secretary Taher Rahman, Chhatra Dal Motihar Hall unit President Hasim Rana, Rajshahi Polytechnic Institute student Mahir, Chhatra Shibir activist and former coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement Nurul Islam Shahid, and a journalist of DBC news Monirul Islam.
At least five others were injured in the clash.
Mahrufa Siddiqui Lupa, medical officer of RU Medical Centre, said 10-15 people have received treatment so far.
Eyewitnesses said the Chhatra Dal activists began a sit-in programme around 9:00am in front of the treasurer's office. The nomination paper distribution began at 10:00am, and some Chhatra Dal activists entered the treasurer's office around 10:15am. They allegedly broke a plastic chair on the balcony and overturned a table. Later, they locked the main entrance to the office.
In response to the allegation of vandalism, RU Chhatra Dal President Sultan Ahmed Rahi said, "We did not vandalise anything. The table was just moved. We will continue our sit-in until our demands are met."
Expressing solidarity with Chhatra Dal's programme, the RU unit member of University Teachers' Association of Bangladesh A Naeem Farooqui, Assistant Publicity Secretary Jahangir Hossain Babu, RU General Secretary M Khalekuzzaman, and Nationalist Teachers Forum President Abdul Alim, among others, participated in the sit-in programme.
RUCSU Chief Election Commissioner F Nazrul Islam said, "When the election schedule was announced, the current first-year students were not yet enrolled. As such, they cannot be included in this election's voter list. They will be eligible in the next election."
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