Shawdesh desk:

Students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology are still on movement as two of their demands are yet to be met though the authorities’ decision of permanently expelling 26 students involved with Abrar murder from the university contended them on Friday.

The university authorities said they would now take actions against students involved in ragging at different halls of residence.

The university’s Directorate of Students’ Welfare director Mizanur Rahman said they already received probe report about a number of students’ involvement with ragging in different halls of residence.

He said letters would be sent to those students accused of ragging on Saturday and the Board of Residence and Discipline would take action within next week.

Mizanur urged the protesters to get back to the classrooms so that the schedule of examinations could be announced within shortest possible time.

Branding the expulsion 26 students unprecedented, he said the university authorities were sincere about meeting all the demands of the students and a committee was also formed regarding inclusion of new chapter in the university’s ordinance against organisational student politics and action against ragging.

They authorities would sit with protesters soon to resume normal activities on the campus, he said.

The protesters expressed their satisfaction at expulsion of 26 students but asked the university administration to meet their demands of action against those who ragged students at different halls of residence in the past, and inclusion of new chapter in the university’s ordinance against organisational student politics and action against ragging.

One of the protesters’ spokespersons Antara Madhuri Tithi said they would announce their stance in a couple of days after discussing among them.

The Board of Residence and Discipline of the university on Thursday night announced expulsion of 26 students for their involvement in torturing electrical and electronic engineering student Abrar Fahad to death at Sher-e-Bangla Hall on October 7.

The action was taken based on a report of the probe body formed following the murder of Abrar, said a release of the university.

It said 25 of the expelled students were named in the charge sheet the police filed on November 23 in the murder case. The university also punished six other students for varying terms for breaching discipline, said the release.

Of the expelled students, the university unit Chhatra League general secretary Mehedi Hasan Russel of civil engineering, vice-president Muhtasim Fuad of civil engineering, organising secretary Mehedi Hasan Robin,  information and research affairs secretary Anik Sarkar, deputy social welfare secretary Ifti Mosharrf Sakal, sports secretary Meftahul Islam Zion of naval architecture and marine engineering, water resources student Moniruzzaman Monir, civil engineering student Muzahidur Rahman Muzahid, Khandaker Tabakkharul Islam Tanvir, Muntasir Al Jemi of chemical engineering, ASM Nazmus Sadat, Ehteshamul Rabbi Tanim,Mohammad Shamim Billah of the marine engineering department, Morshed Amartya Islam, Hossain Mohammad Toha, Mujtaba Rafid, Mizanur Rahman, SM Mahmud Setu, Ishtiaq Ahmed Munna of mechanical engineering, Amit Saha, Majedur Rahman of marine engineering, Shamsul Arefin Rafat, Moaj Abu Huraira, Mohammad Akash of civil engineering, and Morsheduzzaman Mondal were named in the charge sheet. Another expelled student Ashiqul Islam was not named in the charge sheet.

Six other students Abu Nawshad Sakib, Saiful Islam, Mohammad Galib, Shaon Miah, Shakhawat Iqbal Ovi, Mohammad Ismail were also punished for varying terms on charge of violating discipline.

Abrar’s killing had triggered widespread protests.

Students of the university on November 14 they would not go back to classrooms their latest three demands expulsion of Abrar killers, action against people involved with ragging, and inclusion of a new chapter to the university’s ordinance.

On October 13, Dhaka Metropolitan Police said they identified 11 of the 25 who were involved in the torture that left Abrar dead while the rests were ‘directly’ or ‘indirectly’ involved with in brutal killing.

The charge sheet mentioned 21 of the 25 accused were arrested while the rest four were still in hiding. Investigators named 31 prosecution witnesses, including six of Abrar’s family, seven teachers, a physician, 13 students, and five employees of the university.

Abrar was tortured to death allegedly for his critical views on social media over the recently signed deals between Bangladesh and India.

Immediate after Abrar murder, the students placed 10-point demands that include rustication of the killers of Abrar from the university, capital punishment to them, compensation to Abrar’s family, bearing the expenses for running the case, speedy trial of the case, making the charge sheet public, rustication from the university of all those involved in torturing students in the past and banning organisation-based student politics at the university.

In the face of the student agitation, the university authorities issued five separate notices announcing a ban on organisation-based politics on the campus, conducting drives against illegal occupants at the university halls and sealing off the student organisation offices at the university, introducing a web portal where students could file complaints about any kind of abuse.