Nine CUET Students Served Show-Cause Notices Over Involvement in Chhatra Dal Committee

Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) authorities have issued show-cause notices to nine students for their alleged involvement in political activities linked to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s student wing, Chhatra Dal, despite a ban on campus politics. The students’ names appeared in a recently published draft committee of CUET’s Chhatra Dal unit, prompting the university administration to take action.

On Friday, 11 July, Professor Md. Mahbubul Alam, Director of the Student Welfare Office, issued nine separate notices, directing the students to submit written explanations within three working days. The notices state that the students are accused of creating an unstable environment and engaging in activities that violate the university’s disciplinary regulations. They have been asked to clarify why disciplinary action should not be taken against them and are required to appear in person at the Student Welfare Office by 27 July to respond to the notices.

According to university sources, a nine-member draft committee for CUET’s Chhatra Dal unit, signed by the organisation’s central president and general secretary, was circulated on Facebook on the evening of Thursday, 10 July. The public disclosure of the students’ names sparked widespread concern on campus. In response, general students staged protests that night, condemning the formation of the committee in violation of the university’s ban on political activities and demanding action against those involved.

The students who received the show-cause notices are: Wasif Rashed, a student of the EEE Department from the 2015-16 academic session and the announced president of the Chhatra Dal committee; Mohammad Toufiq Hasan Chowdhury, a student of the Biomedical Engineering Department from the 2019-20 session and the general secretary; Mohammad Minhaj Uddin, senior vice-president; Chandan Kumar Das, vice-president; Mohammad Tousif, senior joint general secretary; Abu Sufian Al Sabit and Sakhawat Hossain, joint general secretaries; Biplab Hossain, organising secretary; and Ahmed Intisar, publicity secretary.

Notably, on 7 August 2024, the CUET administration imposed a ban on all political activities by students, faculty, officers, and staff on campus.