Student assaulted at BAU, counter-complaint to proctor

 
On the other hand, there have been counter-allegations that the incident was false and done to satisfy personal grudges.

The four accused are Saiful Islam Palash and Sanjan Islam Munna, fourth-year students of veterinary faculty, and Fahim-ul-Islam and Zakaria Saeed, fourth-year students of animal husbandry faculty. However, these four accused have counter-charged Anup saying that personal grudges are being met by making completely false and fabricated allegations against them. Meanwhile, the accused four students were active in the anti-discrimination student movement, said the third-year students of Shahjalal Hall.

All of them are residential students of Shahjalal Hall of BAU. Professor BAU proctor Prof. Dr. Md. Abdul Alim confirmed the receipt of the complaint letter from both sides On Thursday.

Anup Pal mentioned in his complaint letter, 'A general meeting was organized with the general students of Shahjalal Hall in the presence of the Provost Sir to discuss the general issues of the hall on the last 28th night. Saiful Islam Palash, a student in the same hall, banned the fourth-year students from going to the meeting for unknown reasons. Later, when some students disobeyed his ban and went to the meeting, Palash and his classmates harassed me and my classmates in various ways along with Fahim-ul-Islam, a former Chhatra League worker. When I protested about this, several former BCL activists Fahim-ul-Islam, Saiful Islam Palash, Zakaria Saeed, and Sanjan Islam Munna entered my own room 201/A. They threw me on the floor and started killing, punching and kicking me. Later, when other classmates intervened, they left and threatened to kill me by tagging me as a minority because I was a Hindu. I want justice and the security of life from the administration.

On behalf of the accused students, Zakaria Saeed mentioned in the complaint letter: "On October 29, our classmate Anup Pal made false accusations against us based on personal grievances and claimed to be a member of the banned organization Bangladesh Chhatra League. As a result, we are facing various forms of family and social abuse. It is important to note that Anup Pal himself was an active worker of the banned organization Bangladesh Chhatra League and has caused physical and mental harm to many junior students through a culture of intimidation. We are attaching evidence of this with our application.

At the time of the incident described in his complaint, there were 12 to 15 of us present. Although there were arguments and some scuffles due to unfortunate circumstances, no physical fight took place. Furthermore, his allegation that he was threatened with death, referencing minority status, is completely false and fabricated. In support of our claims, the Hindu students of our hall have provided their signatures."

A statement signed by 25 fourth-year students of Shahjalal Hall, including five Hindu students, has characterized Anup Pal's allegations as filled with personal grievances. In the statement, they assert that all of Anup Pal's claims are baseless and stem from personal grudges, questioning the motives of everyone involved for personal gain. They express hope that the honorable proctor will take appropriate action following a thorough investigation of the matter.

A statement submitted to the proctor by 24 third-year students from Shahjalal Hall expresses their boycott of Anup Pal. The statement claims that the four accused students were active in the anti-discrimination movement and that they have no complaints against them. Conversely, they allege that Anup, associated with Chhatra League politics, has tarnished the hall's reputation with false information.

Additionally, roommates and fourth-year students Mehdi Hasan Rimel and Md. Asif Iqbal Al-Amin called Anup's allegations baseless, clarifying that "Palash and Zakaria were never involved with Chhatra League," and disputing claims about misconduct. They maintained that the accusations are entirely unfounded.

In this regard, Anup's roommate and eyewitness to the incident, Al-Amin, stated, "I was in the room on the day of the incident when Anup had an argument with Palash. At one point, Palash looked like he was going to harm Anup, but my batchmates managed to stop him. While restraining Palash, Anup may have been punched or kicked; however, there was no beating on the floor and no minority language was spoken while everyone was in the room."

Regarding the counter-complaint, Anup Pal stated, "I am in charge of dining in the hall. I was given this responsibility by the general students, without informing the provost.