CU clashes: Section-144 imposed in area; at least 180 students injured

According to the CU Medical Centre and the registrar's office, at least 180 students have been injured from the clashes that continued from early Sunday. 

After the imposition of Section 144, 10-12 vehicles of army, RAB and police enter the campus. 

The district administration has issued Section 144 in the area encompassing Gate-2 of Chittagong University to the railgate on the eastern side following a series of clashes between students and locals beginning last night.

Around 50 people have been injured in the clashes so far, with the numbers set grow.

The restriction came into force from 2:00pm and will continue till midnight tomorrow -- a total of 34 hours, Hathazari UNO Mohammad Abdullah Al Momin, who signed the order imposing Section 144, told Stream.

Brigadier General Taslim Uddin, director of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH), says 50 students from CU are admitted to CMCH. Most have head injuries. They are receiving the highest level of medical care.

History student Shabnam said, "Locals started throwing bricks at us all at once. After I was hit on the head, everything went dark. Later, my friends brought me to the hospital."

Campus physician Muhammad Tipu Sultan said, "Over a hundred students received treatment. Among them, we sent the critically injured ones to CMCH. Most of them sustained head injuries."

Several students allege that they came under attack from groups wielding sharp weapons and sticks in the Jobhra area, next to Gate 2 of the campus.

 Unverified video clips of clashes have been doing the rounds on social media since Sunday morning. 

In one clip filmed and provided to Stream by a student, a group of men are seen attacking a young man with sticks and sharp weapons.

Students of the university and those who witnesses termed as locals face off in front of Asif Villa in the Jobhra area, next to Gate no- 2 of the campus.

Pro-VC Kamal Uddin and Proctor Tanvir Mohammad Hayder Khan were present during the standoff. 

Students were chanting slogans in protest of the clash with locals that took place in the early hours of Sunday, leaving dozens of students injured. 

The background

After a night of clashes, groups of men from Jobhra village laid siege to Asif Villa around 10:00am where students of the university live, several students said.

Upon hearing the news that the men were trying to break in, several hundred CU students rushed to the scene and drove them away, according to Siam Al Zaki, a student of public administration.

Several students say more than 30 of their fellows were injured in the clash after midnight. 

It erupted after a woman student was reported to have been verbally abused and physically assaulted by the security guard of the building where she rents a flat. 

Siam Al Zaki, who is also a content writer for Rashtra Chinta, said a female student was stopped by the guard when she reached home around 11:30pm.  

At one point, the guard, who is a local himself, physically assaulted the student.

“I always return on time. Last night, I came back before midnight and asked the guard to open the door. He refused and began verbally abusing me. When I protested, he slapped me. My roommates rushed out, but he pushed me to the ground and kicked me,” UNB quoted the woman as saying.

After the woman called her classmates, groups of students went to the scene and tried to detain the guard. The locals then snatched the guard from the students, leading to a clash that left over 30 students injured, students say.

Siam said Gonotantrik Chhatra Sangshad leader Al Masnun was among the injured. 

Dozens of injured students were taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) by a bus, he added. 

Morshedul Haque Rakib, a fourth-year student of English who was injured, told Stream on Sunday morning, "I left the medical centre after receiving first aid. The situation is tense. The locals threw stones even at our pro-VC when he went to negotiate. He vomited on the spot after being hit by the stone.” 

CU students and villagers have never gotten along too well, he said. “Such unfortunate incidents have happened several times before. And the university administration has never been able to take a strong stance.” 

Several students are currently receiving treatment at the CMCH.