‘Chhatra League’ tag: DU student beaten for hours

Activists of Jatiya Chhatra Shakti picked up a student of Dhaka University and beat him for several hours after labelling him a member of the Bangladesh Chhatra League while he was out for sehri early Monday.

The incident reportedly took place around 4:00am on Monday. The victim, Rahid Khan Pavel, is a student of the Philosophy Department from the 2020-21 academic session.

Speaking to journalists while lying injured in front of Shahbagh Police Station, Pavel said he had gone to Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) to have sehri when a group of people surrounded him.

According to Pavel, around 20 to 25 individuals beat him for nearly two to two and a half hours. He alleged that he was first assaulted inside the BUET campus and was later taken by rickshaw to several locations on the DU campus, including Salimullah Muslim Hall, VC Square and the Raju Sculpture, where he was beaten repeatedly.

Pavel claimed that he was struck on the head with bricks, stabbed with a motorbike disc lock and beaten with belts. He also alleged that his mobile phone, motorbike key and wallet were taken during the assault.

He said the attackers eventually left him in front of Shahbagh Police Station in a seriously injured condition, and that law enforcers intervened when he was being beaten near the police station premises.

Denying any political affiliation, Pavel said he is a regular student who attends classes in the Philosophy Department.

However, Md Saifullah, organisational secretary of Jatiya Chhatra Shakti’s Dhaka University unit and social welfare secretary of the Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall student body, rejected the allegation.

Saifullah claimed that Pavel had been involved in attacks during the July movement and had subsequently been boycotted by both his department and hall.

He further alleged that students recently received information that Pavel had been putting up Bangladesh Chhatra League posters on campus and organising iftar gatherings with former activists of the now-banned organisation.

“When we caught him and wanted to check his phone, he refused and reacted aggressively. Students then caught him and handed him over to the police,” Saifullah said.

Shahbagh Police Station officials said Pavel was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment. Police said further decisions regarding the incident would be taken after his treatment.

DU Proctor Saifuddin Ahmed said he had learned about the incident and spoken to police. He added that Pavel’s name does not appear among the 403 leaders and activists of the banned Chhatra League who were show-caused by the university over alleged attacks on protesting students during the July uprising between July 15 and August 5, 2024.