Staff reporter :
The High Court has issued an order directing Barishal University (BU) authorities to reinstate the studentship of Jannatul Naureen Urmi, a student of the Mathematics Department (2015-16 session) and the Central Assistant General Secretary of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD).
A High Court bench comprising Justice Fatema Nazib and Justice Md Hamidur Rahman passed the order on Monday. The court instructed the university administration to restore Naureen’s studentship within four weeks.
Earlier, Naureen filed a writ petition seeking reinstatement of her studentship. In her petition, she stated that on August 13, 2024, a protest rally under the banner of general students was held on the Barishal University campus. Naureen was allegedly attacked during the protest by some leaders and activists of the Chhatra League, with involvement from faculty member Sujit Bala. Following the incident, general students lodged a written complaint to the Vice-Chancellor demanding justice.
To regain her right to continue education, Naureen submitted an application to the Vice-Chancellor on September 25, 2024. With no response from the administration, she served a legal notice on December 3. Although an inquiry committee was formed on February 6, 2025, she alleges that she was still denied the chance to continue her studies despite repeated assurances.
“I only wanted to continue my education, but I was deprived of that right because of my political identity,” Naureen said. “When repeated appeals failed, I had no option but to turn to the court for justice.”
Her lawyer, Md Ziaur Rahman, expressed satisfaction with the ruling. “We welcome this order and hope the university will promptly allow Naureen to resume her studies,” he said.
Jannatul Naureen Urmi was admitted to the Mathematics Department in the 2015-16 session and served as the Student Affairs Secretary of the Barishal University unit of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal.
While preparing for medical admission coaching during the 2016-17 session, she progressed to second year but became actively involved in the 2017-18 quota reform movement. Her Facebook posts supporting the abolition of quotas allegedly led to threats from the Chhatra League directed at her family. She was reportedly obstructed from taking exams and physically harassed, prompting her father to file a general diary with the police station on March 17, 2018.
In 2020, on February 14, Naureen attended a Chhatra Dal discussion meeting as a candidate for the position of President of Barishal University Chhatra Dal. On March 1, 2020, she was attacked again, allegedly due to political retaliation. Several national media outlets reported on the incident at the time. Naureen claims that despite demanding justice from the university administration, no action was taken because the accused were affiliated with the ruling Awami League-backed teachers and Chhatra League leaders.
10 days later, on March 11, 2020, a case was filed at Barishal Bandar Police Station, accusing Mathematics Department teacher Sujit Bala as the prime accused. The other accused were Chhatra League activists Alim Salehi (Sociology Department), Ariful Islam (7th batch, Accounting & Information Systems), Abdullah Firoz (6th batch), and Hafiz and Asaduzzaman Asad (5th batch).
Recalling the incident, Naureen said, “On March 1, 2020, Chhatra League leaders attacked me with the intent to kill. Sujit Bala Sir forcefully dragged me out of the final exam hall and handed me over to them. They struck my head, beat me mercilessly, pierced my entire body with a geometry compass, slashed my neck, stabbed my chest with a broken pencil, and broke my leg.
I still carry the scars of that torture on my body. Under the Awami League government, I never got justice. Now I want a fair trial.”
She added, “I have heard that after the fall of the Awami League government, Sujit Bala fled to the United States. The Chhatra League leaders may be in hiding, but they are not beyond the reach of the law. Now that the country is free from autocratic rule, I am hopeful that I will finally get justice.”
