[Bangla Daily Star] With lethal weapons including choppers, machetes and axes, two factions of Bangladesh Chhatra League clashed with each other in presence of police at Jagannath University yesterday that left at least 20 people injured. Six female students and a female teacher of geography and environment department also received injuries while running helter-skelter during the clash, witnesses said.
Sources said the clash ensued between supporters of university unit BCL President Kamrul Hasan Ripon and General Secretary Gazi Abu Sayeed over establishing supremacy on the campus.
The two factions were locked in the hour-long clash when several hundred students were demonstrating on the campus demanding amendment of section 27(4) of Jagannath University Act, 2005. The section says the university has to be run with its own income after 2013.
Kamrul group first attacked on their rival group at the geography department around 11:15 am following slapping an activist of Kamrul group over joining the demonstration.
At one stage, supporters of Gazi group launched a counter attack on their rivals, triggering sporadic clashes on the campus.
Chases and counter chases between the two groups with sharp weapons, sticks, brickbats created panic among the thousands of students that also disrupted classes at different departments for several hours, campus sources said.
Police played the role of silent spectators for around half an hour during the clash and after that they tried to control the situation, witnesses said.
Katwali police picked up two students--Babul of mathematics and Mamun of statistics departments--in connection with the violence and released them in the afternoon.
The injured persons have been given treatment at different hospitals in the city.
Refuting the allegation of their inactivity during the clash, OC of the police station Mohammad Salahuddin said police brought the situation under control.
Proctor of the university Kazi Asaduzzaman told The Daily Star that a four-member probe committee with Dr Hasna Hena as its convener has been formed to identify people involved in the clash. He warned of action against those who will be found guilty.
Additional police have been deployed on the campus to avoid further clash.