Female student harassed by IU BCL activist

Our Correspondent :
A group of residential students of the Khaleda Zia Hall staged a demonstration at Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia on Thursday night demanding punishment to an activist of the university unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), on the charge of harassing a female student and attacking her male friend.
About one hundred residential students gathered on the hall premises and staged the demonstration there demanding expulsion of the activist from the university permanently at about 8:00pm.
Witnesses said that a group of IU BCL unit activists led by Mehedi Hasan Hafiz and Shahin Alam, loyal to the university BCL unit General Secretary Nasim Ahmed Joy, locked into an altercation with Popy Khatun, a master’s student of IU Bangla Department and her friend Pothik in front of the university’s main entrance.
The activists, at one stage, harassed Popy and beat up her friend Pothik there at about 7:00pm.
The altercation stemmed from taking control of a hall seat. Using Hafiz’s reference, a student named Sayma got allotted in the room where Popy was living. As Sayma tried to get hold of a seat by the window, a heated exchange of words ensued between the two, which later resulted in Hafiz’s intervention.
The protesting students said that Syeda Saima Rahman, a second year student of IU Political Science Department, took the seat in Room No 204 of the new block at the hall on the recommendation of the university BCL leaders.
Saima demanded the seat of her choice in the room but other senior students of the room asked her to take another seat. She did not agree to their proposal and informed the BCL leaders of the matter.
Later, Hafiz and Shahin Alam harassed their fellow student Popy and beat up her friend over the issue, they said. ‘We demand immediate punishment to the BCL activist,’ the agitating students added.
On information, a team of IU proctorial body and the hall Provost Professor Yeasmin Ara Sathi went to the spot and assured them of looking into the matter.
The protesters withdrew their demonstration after getting assurance from the hall provost at about 12:00am.
Hafiz denied the allegation saying that he did not know Popy.
He also said that the allegation of managing the hall seat against him was false and fabricated.
IU Khaleda Zia Hall provost professor Yeasmin Ara Sathi said that they cancelled the seat of Syeda Saima Rahman.
When asked about the expulsion of the BCL activist, she said that the university authorities would take action in this regard.