At least four journalists were seriously injured in an alleged attack by leaders and activists of the ruling party BNP's student front, the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), on journalists and students at Rajshahi University on Sunday night.
The incident took place around 8:30pm in front of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Hall.
The injured journalists were identified as Arifuzzaman Korban, university correspondent of bdnews24.com; Zahidul Islam of Agamir Shomoy; Noor Ahsan Mridul of The Daily Star; and Mainul Islam Raju of Samakal.
Around 10 other journalists and several students were also injured in the attack. The injured were receiving treatment at the university's medical centre.
Witnesses said JCD leaders and activists came to the hall gate from the university's Transport Market in a procession, allegedly intending to attack the hall parliament's General Secretary (GS) Ariful Islam.
They were reportedly carrying locally made weapons, including machetes, cleavers, hockey sticks, pipes and baseball bats.
When the university proctor arrived at the spot, the JCD activists allegedly hid the weapons. Journalists who approached the area to record video of the situation were then attacked.
Witnesses said a Samakal correspondent was beaten with sticks in the presence of the proctor, while an attempt was also made to seize the mobile phone of an Ajker Patrika correspondent. The bdnews24.com correspondent was later allegedly assaulted.
The proctor subsequently took the journalists inside the hall and locked the door for their safety.
When other journalists arrived after hearing about the attack, The Daily Star and Agamir Shomoy correspondents were allegedly beaten. Zahidul Islam suffered a head injury.
Journalists who tried to intervene were also allegedly threatened by the attackers.
The incident reportedly stemmed from a dispute over comments made by JCD leader Ahsan Habib on a Facebook post concerning Rajshahi University Central Students' Union (RUCSU) GS Salahuddin Ammar.
Habib alleged that Rakibul had made abusive comments about his mother and sister, while Rakibul claimed that Habib had threatened to beat him and asked about his whereabouts. Both later made posts on social media presenting their respective positions.
University Proctor Mahbubur Rahman said, “We failed. It was not possible for us to control the situation. We called the police, but the police also fled in fear.”
Rajshahi University unit JCD President Sultan Ahmed Rahi said he had informed the central committee of the incident and that action would be taken against those responsible.