A student of  Rajshahi University  has been assaulted allegedly by some activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) at Madar Bux Hall as he asked them not to smoke in the television room.

The victim is Shahabuddin Ahmed, a master’s student of Bangla department, who works for online news portal www.bdmorning.com and is also a member of Rajshahi University Journalist Association (RUJA).

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Witnesses said RU BCL Madar Bux Hall unit vice president Giasuddin Kajol along with two of his fellow activists beat up Shahabuddin as objected to his smoking in the television room while watching an IPL match on Sunday night.

“While watching the cricket match, Giasuddin Kajol, a fourth-year student of History department, started smoking cigarettes, making him and the others feel uncomfortable,” alleged Shahabuddin.

Later, Shahabuddin was taken to the university medical centre for primary treatment.

Professor Ashabul Haque, proctor of the university said, “We will take necessary steps against the accused after an investigation.”

Meanwhile, RU-based journalists staged a sit-in at night in front of the vice-chancellor's residence demanding immediate action against the BCL men and the removal of the Madar Bux Hall provost.

Later, the journalists withdrew their sit-in programme at around 2 am after the pro-vice-chancellor Professor Sultan-Ul-Islam assured them of meeting their demands by Monday.

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Nuruzzaman Khan, president of Rajshahi University Journalist Association, alleged that he along with his fellow journalists contacted the hall provost several times over phone, but he did not respond to their call.

“Instead of coming to the hall and taking necessary steps to solve the problem, the hall provost made the journalists wait in front of the hall gates for three hours, and later refused to come down”, Nuruzzaman added.