Tension flares again at Chittagong University over Victory Day remarks

Tension resurfaced on the Chittagong University (CU) campus on Tuesday during a Victory Day discussion when Chittagong University unit Chhatra Dal president Alauddin Mohsin and several activists advanced towards Central Student Union (CUCSU) elected Vice-President Ibrahim Hossain Roni while he was speaking.

The incident occurred around 11:45 am at Jarultala during an discussion meeting organised to mark Victory Day.

The latest unrest follows controversy sparked on Sunday during an Intellectual Martyrs’ Day event at the vice-chancellor’s office. There, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Prof Dr Shamim Uddin Khan remarked that the killing of intellectuals in 1971 was part of an international conspiracy to turn Bangladesh into a vassal state.

He described suggestions that Pakistani forces killed intellectuals while fleeing as “irrelevant”, asserting the murders were orchestrated internationally.

That night, Chhatra Dal activists staged a protest march. On Monday, they locked the administrative building demanding the pro-vice-chancellor’s resignation. The lock was removed around 8:30 pm after over eight hours.

Various student organisations observed Victory Day programmes from Tuesday morning. Tension escalated when Prof Dr Shamim Uddin Khan attended the administration-organised discussion.

Ibrahim Hossain Roni later shared a video on Facebook, captioning it as “Chhatra Dal’s provocation and attempted attack during CU’s Victory Day programme”.

Alauddin Mohsin could not be reached for comment.

Proctor Prof Dr Hossain Shahid Sarwardi said the situation had returned to normal as of the latest reports.