JU proctor declared 'undesirable', office locked

Students of Jahangirnagar University have declared the university proctor 'undesirable' and locked his office after the authorities failed to arrest the accused even after 48 hours of an outsider attempting to rape a female student. 

At the same time, they have also announced a programme to blockade the new administrative building from Sunday.

The students said that the administration has shown extreme failure and dishonesty by failing to arrest the accused, hiding information, and repeatedly breaking promises.

The students made this announcement at a press conference organised after a sit-in programme in front of the vice-chancellor's residence on Saturday around 10:30 am. 

Later, they broke the locks of two doors in the university proctor's office and hung new locks.

The students said that such steps have been taken after failing to arrest the accused within the stipulated 48 hours. They have demanded that the movement will continue until the accused is arrested and the proctorial body resigns.

At the press conference, student Farzana Tabassum said that one of the protesters' demands was that the proctorial team should resign if they failed to arrest the culprit within 48 hours. But even after the stipulated time, the culprit was not arrested. 

On the contrary, they alleged that the administration has consistently misled the students and tried to evade its responsibility. On May 13, the administration had assured them that it would accept the demands raised before the vice-chancellor in person and even acknowledged it by signing. But later, the administration publicly denied that position.

Zafrul Hasan Chowdhury Sajal, deputy registrar of the university's security office, said that the proctor's office is still locked.

Although Proctor Rashidul Alam came to the office around 1 pm, he did not enter. Later, he told reporters that he hoped law enforcement agencies would quickly arrest the accused and ensure that he would be given the maximum punishment.

Earlier, after the 48-hour arrest deadline for the accused had expired, students staged a protest march from the university's Tarzan Square at around 1:30 am on Friday demanding the resignation of Proctor Professor Rashidul Alam and remained in front of the Vice-Chancellor's residence overnight.