SUST reopens as students agitate for VC's removal
As pro-BNP and Jamaat teachers joined duties, classes in seven departments out of 23 were held partially with poor attendance of students.
The opposition-aligned teachers refrained from taking classes as they supported the strike call.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The university administration took additional security measures to avoid any untoward incident on the campus.
About 30 per cent students returned to the campus till yesterday, campus sources said.
Plying of varsity vehicles between the campus and the city remained suspended yesterday.
To enforce strike, opposition backed student organisations under the banner of All Party Students Action Council brought out a procession in the morning. Their procession was intercepted by police in front of the BDR Gate, about half a kilometre from the SUST campus.
The students damaged a mini bus near Madina market.
They held a rally there and barricaded the Sylhet-Sunamganj highway fo about an hour.
Habibur Rahman Selim, a Chhatra League leader and co-ordinator of the students action council presided over the rally.
Speakers there said they will continue agitation till the Vice-Chancellor resigns and other demands met.
The SUST was closed sine die amid a tense situation on May 14 following the killing of a student in police firing.
VC Prof Musleh uddin Ahmed resign on the same day and left the campus after students set fire to official documents, furniture and vehicles on the campus.
He managed to return to the campus on July 5 under protection of police and activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhata Dal (JCD) and Islami Chhatra Shibir, students wings of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.
Since then, opposition backed teachers and student organisations have been demanding his resignation.
The syndicate at its meeting on July 24 decided to reopen the varsity on August 8.
Opposition-aligned teachers of the university are also demanding the VC's resignation and appointment of a new VC, judicial probe into the incidents including the killing of SUST student Mosharraf Hossain Shamim.
Students and teachers of BBA department took out a mourning procession and held a rally on the campus yesterday to press judicial probe into the killing of Shamim and compensation for his family. Shamim was a student of BBA.
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