July protest raid: JU expels 289 pupils, suspends 9 teachers

Jahangirnagar University gate

Jahangirnagar University has expelled 289 students for attacking fellow students during the July protests and suspended nine teachers for directly supporting police attacks.

The suspended teachers were accused of directly assisting the police crackdown, and all the expelled students were leaders and activists of the banned Chhatra League, said JU Vice-Chancellor Dr Kamrul Ahsan during a press briefing at 3:15 am on Tuesday, following a closed-door Syndicate meeting that took place from 11:00 am on Monday to 3:00 pm on Tuesday at the Registrar Building.

“Those responsible for the attacks on students will face three categories of punishment. Former students will have their certificates revoked; students who have completed exams or viva will have their results withheld, and current students will be expelled,” said the OC.

“Nine teachers have been suspended for allegedly supporting the police attack on students. Furthermore, six faculty-based structural committees have been formed to investigate allegations against ten other teachers,” he added.

The suspended teachers include former Pro VC (Education) Mohammad Mostafa Firoz; former proctor Prof Alamgir Kabir; Associate Prof ASM Firoz-ul-Hasan (Department of Government and Politics); former dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences Prof Bashir Ahmed; former proctor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall Prof Israfil Ahmed; Associate Prof Mehedi Iqbal (Department of Geography and Environment); Prof Hosne Ara (Department of History); former proctor of Rabindranath Tagore Hall Najmul Hasan Talukder; and Prof Mohammad Tajuddin Sikdar (Department of Public Health and Informatics).

Teachers under investigation by the structural committees include Prof Kanan Kumar Sen, Palash Baha, Shafi Mohammad Tarek, Zahirul Islam Khandaker, Md Jahangir Alam, Monir Uddin Shikder, Saidur Rahman, Anwar Khasru Parvez, Muhibur Rouf Shaibal, and AA Mamun.

Additionally, the syndicate revoked the pension benefits of former VC Dr Nurul Alam and former registrar Dr Abu Hasan due to their alleged involvement in facilitating the police attack on students.

Two officers and one staff member of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall had also been suspended.

The syndicate also decided to rename Sheikh Mujib Hall, Sheikh Hasina Hall, and Sheikh Russel Hall in response to student demands, with a committee to be formed for finalising the new names. - UNB