Army escorts Pran Gopal’s daughter home after office blockade

Dr Anindita Dutta, an associate professor at Bangladesh Medical University (formerly BSMMU), found herself barricaded in her office for six hours on Sunday, March 16. 

Trapped in the Cancer Building’s F Block by a group of agitators, she was eventually freed and sent home under army escort, with assistance from university officials and police.  

Daughter of former MP and ex-Vice-Chancellor Professor Pran Gopal Dutta, Dr Anindita serves in the Radiology and Imaging Department. The standoff, which began shortly after she arrived at 8:00am, stemmed from political rivalries tied to her father’s past in Cumilla.  

University Registrar Professor Md. Nazrul Islam, also from Radiology and Imaging, told Jago News: “This was a political matter from their constituency—no university staff were involved. A Hindu rival from Cumilla led a team here, roped in locals, and blocked her.” 

He hinted at broader unrest: “Some are stirring trouble—it’s happening everywhere now.”  

Response was swift. After the university alerted authorities, a proctorial team rushed to the scene, joined by an army unit from Segunbagicha led by a captain and a police squad from Shahbagh police sation under its second officer. 

By 2:30pm, Dr Anindita was escorted home to Dhanmondi in an army convoy.  

Dr Pran Gopal Dutta helmed BSMMU from 2009 to 2015 and won Cumilla-7’s parliamentary seat unopposed in a 2021 by-election. 

After the government shifted on August 5 last year, multiple cases emerged against him in Dhaka and Cumilla, naming Anindita as a co-accused. 

Sources suggest the blockade was orchestrated by Cumilla foes demanding her arrest over those charges.