The students protesting the murder of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) student Abrar Fahad have issued an ultimatum for the vice chancellor to meet their demands by Friday (Oct 11) failure to do which lead to the campus being locked down.
The protesters made the announcement on the fourth day of the protests on Thursday (Oct 10).
They said if the VC fails to meet them by 2pm Friday, all the administrative buildings of BUET will be locked down.
They added that they won’t allow the entry tests scheduled for Monday (Oct 14) to be held.
The students floated their 10-point point demand on Wednesday (Oct 9) which included highest punishment for Abrar’s killers, permanent expulsion of identified killers from the university within 72 hours, ensure justice by settling the cases in the shortest time through a speedy tribunal, explanation from the VC within 2pm on Friday, about why he refrained from being present on the campus even after 30 hours into the incident, explanation from DSW (Directorate of Students Welfare, Buet) chief on why he fled the crime scene after the incident, expulsion of students involved with physical and mental abuse of residential students in the name of ragging by Oct 11, compensation and bearing of all legal expenses for Abrar’s family by BUET authorities, banning student politics on campus within seven days, the establishment of a website or form where students can express their grievances regarding incidents similar to Abrar's one, within Octr 11, the students should be able to access it using their BUET BIIS account and withdrawal of Sher-E-Bangla Hall Dr Md Zafar Iqbal Khan within Oct11.
Abrar, a second-year student of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, was found dead in the stairway of the Sher-e-Bangla dormitory in the early hours of Monday (Oct 7).
He was beaten to death allegedly by the university unit Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leaders for his Facebook status regarding the instruments signed between India and Bangladesh and for his alleged involvement with Islami Chhatra Shibir, Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing.
Quoting the students of the dormitory, police said that he was called up from his room at 7:30pm on Sunday (Oct 6).
Later, his body was found on the first-floor stairway of the hall at 2am on Monday and post mortem reports showed that he was beaten of death.
His father filed a murder case against 19 people with Chawkbazar police station on Monday evening and police have made 13 arrests over the matter.
Bangladesh Chhatra League later expelled 11 of its members permanently from the organization for their reported involvement in the killing.
The incident sparked nationwide protests with protesters demanding justice for Abrar and capital punishment for the killers.
Meanwhile, the BUET Alumni Association are demanding the resignation of Vice Chancellor Saiful Islam who remained absent from the scene for two days since the murder and only turned up at the university premises on Tuesday amid student protests.