United News of Bangladesh

Islamic University Alumni Association organised an iftar mahfil in Dhaka on Wednesday. "Ramadan teaches individuals to lead a balanced and moderate life," said Islamic University (IU) Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Nakib Muhammad Nasrullah, while speaking at the event as the chief guest at the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh. Renaming IU hall after Shah Aziz sparks criticism "Students and people from all walks of life can embrace the ideology of Ramadan to become true human beings and serve the nation," he added. A pre-iftar discussion took place where several dignitaries spoke, including Professor Abul Kalam Patwary, Professor Nasir Uddin, Professor Abdul Karim, Islami Bank Deputy Managing Director Asadullah, and banker Zillur Rahman, among others. IU authorities rename four halls, academic building Nazmul Haque Sayedi, president of IUAA, presided over the function, while IUAA General Secretary Muhammad Abdul Hai moderated the event.

At least 25 students of Islamic University (IU), Kushtia were injured as a bus carrying them plunged into a roadside ditch in the district on Tuesday. The identities of the injured could not be known yet.    According to sources at the university, the students boarding the hired bus were heading towards the campus in the morning. The bus fell into the roadside ditch as the driver lost control while it was overtaking another bus on Kushtia-Jhenaidah Highway of Bittipara area under university police station around 10am. One killed in road accident in Faridpur The injured were taken to Kushtia General Hospital. IU proctor Prof M Shahinuzzaman said that they rushed to the spot minutes after receiving the information of the accident.

Professor M Yaqub Ali and Professor M Jahangir Alam have taken charge as the new pro-vice-chancellor and treasurer of Islamic University in Kushtia. A press release, signed by IU information, publication and public relations office deputy director Rajibul Islam Kanok, was issued in this regard on Monday night.  Former VC of KUET opts for retirement, nine officials suspended The newly appointed pro-vice-chancellor and treasurer signed the joining papers in a ceremony held at IU vice-chancellor's office at around 8:30pm on Monday. IU vice-chancellor Professor Nakib M Nasrullah, theology and Islamic studies faculty dean Professor ABM Siddiqur Rahman Asrafi, acting registrar HM Ali Hasan, among others, were present on the occasion

The authorities of Islamic University in Kushtia launched an e-payment service for the students of the university with a view to simplifying transactions for them. Read: 5 injured in BCL factional clash at Islamic University IU vice-chancellor Professor Shaikh Abdus Salam inaugurated the e-payment service at an e-payment application launching ceremony as chief guest, a press release issued by IU information, publication and public relations office deputy director Rajibul Islam on Saturday (November 25, 2023). The service will allow the students to pay all sorts of fees, including admission, examination, and residential hall fees, online without having to go to the bank. Read: Islamic University and Edith Cowan University to undertake joint academic, research activities  Through the e-payment service software of Agrani Bank, students will be able to pay money through bKash, Nagad, and Rocket using their ID. This service will be available to all students from the 2017-18 academic session of the university. The online banking service will be a convenient and efficient way for students to pay their fees, IU acting registrar HM Ali Hasan said that the e-payment service would save students time and hassle. Read: Islamic University officials continue work abstention for 2nd day  It would also help to reduce the number of people visiting banks. The service was expected to be well-received by students, he added.

Eight activists from the Islamic University unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the ruling Awami League, have been suspended from the organisation temporarily for violating its rules and regulations.  A press release, signed by IU BCL unit President Faisal Siddiqi Arafat and General Secretary Nasim Ahmed Joy, was issued on this matter this morning.  Read: 5 injured in BCL factional clash at Islamic University The suspended activists are: Sabbir Khan, Shamim Reza, Akib Masud Anubhav, Parvez Hossain Banat and Abdul Quader of BCL's Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Hall unit; Ashik Quraishi of Sheikh Russel Hall unit;  Shahdullah Siddiqui Saimun; and Tasin Azad of Jatir Pita Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall unit. According to the press release, the activists were suspended from the student organisation as they were allegedly involved in "anti-organisational activities." IU BCL unit President Faisal Siddiqi Arafat told UNB that they suspended the eight activists from the organisation temporarily for violating its rules and regulations.  Read: Another first-year student at Islamic University alleges torture by BCL activists They also submitted a written statement to the BCL central body for their permanent expulsion, he added. Earlier on Sunday, a discussion programme marking the 48th martyrdom anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National Mourning Day, was held at Bir Shrestha Hamidur Rahman Auditorium in the morning. IU BCL's Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Hall unit activist Shamim Hossain, a student of law department under 2018-19 academic session, locked into an altercation with BCL's Sheikh Russel Hall unit activist Ashik Quraishi, student of management department under 2019-20 academic session, over entering the auditorium to take part in the programme.  Read:3 BCL activists vandalised Islamic University’s medical centre, says duty doctor Following the altercation, two groups -- one led by the Ziaur Rahman Hall unit and another led by Sheikh Russel Hall unit -- swooped on each other with sharp weapons in front of Bir Shrestha Hamidur Rahman Auditorium around 2 pm. The clash left five people from both groups, including Muftain Ahmed Sakib, injured on the spot. Fellow students rescued the injured and took them to the IU Medical Centre for treatment. Sakib suffered knife injuries during the clash.

The Islamic University authorities in Kushtia on Saturday expelled its five female students including a leader of the university unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League, for one year  for their involvement in the torture and humiliation of a first-year student of Finance and Banking Department on the campus The decision was made at a meeting of the university’s student disciplinary committee held on the campus in the morning with IU vice-chancellor Professor Shaikh Abdus Salam in the chair. The suspended students’ are BCL university unit vice-president Shanjida Chowdhury Ontora, a student of the Statistics Department, activists Tabassum Islam and Maobiya Jahan, both students of the Finance and Banking department, Halima Khatun Urmi, of Fine Arts department, and Israt Jahan Mim, of  Law Department of the university. BCL men assault IU student IU pro-vice-chancellor Professor M Mahbubur Rahman, treasurer Professor M Alamgir Hossain Bhuiya, proctor Professor M Shahadat Hossain Azad, acting registrar HM Ali Hasan  among others were present in the meeting. IU proctor Professor M Shahadat Hossain Azad said that the university authorities expelled Ontora and four of her associates from the campus for one year as per the university act. Fulpori, a first year student of Finance and Banking department, was tortured and humiliated by Islamic University unit of BCL vice-president Shanjida Chowdhury Ontora and her cohorts at Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall on the campus in Kushtia on February 12. 2 IU teachers sued for allegedly harassing woman in Jhenaidah The incident came to light after the victim left the hall and disclosed the matter to her seniors and her family members the next day. On February 14, the victim lodged a written complaint with the university administration, including the university proctor, student adviser and hall provost, demanding punishment of those involved in the incident. Two probe bodies formed by the Islamic University authorities to look into the matter submitted their reports on February 26. Recruitment Scam: IU VC’s conversation goes viral again The Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall administration expelled the accused on February 27. On March 5, the university authorities suspended Ontora and four of her associates from the university as well as removed Shamsul Alam, the provost of Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall, from his post following the order of the High Court. The university administration also allocated a seat to the female student of her choice in the Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall following the court order.

The High Court on Wednesday ordered the Islamic University authorities to suspend its five female students who were found involved in the torture and humiliation of a first year student at Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall on the campus. The HC bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil passed the order. The court also asked the university authorities to remove the provost from the dormitory. The five students are—vice president of IU unit Bangladesh Chhatra League Sanjida Chowdhury Antara of Statistics Department, activists Tabassum Islam of Finance and Banking Department, Israt Zahan Meem of Law Department, Halima Khatun Urmi of Fine Arts Department, Moabiya of Finance and Banking Department. The five suspended students won’t be allowed to take part in the academic activists of the university and cannot stay on the campus, said the court. Besides, it asked the IU authorities to allot Fulpori Khatun  a dormitory as per her choice. Also Read: Torture of Fulpori demonstrates university admin’s failure: Judicial inquiry report Advocate Gazi Md Mohsin stood for the writ petitioner and Advocate Shah Manjurul Haque stood for Islamic University while Deputy Attorney General tushar Kanti Roy represented the state. On Tuesday, the judicial inquiry committee formed to probe the torture on Fulpori Khatun, a first year student of Banking and Finance Department of the university, found that the girl was tortured brutally and inhumanly and the university authorities failed to act properly. It also found the five students responsible for the incident. The report was submitted before High Court bench of Justice JBM Hasan and Justice Raziq Al Jalil The HC bench fixed Wednesday for passing an order in this regard. Also Read: IU students demand expulsion of five BCL activists over torture at dormitory The inquiry committee found their involvement in the incident and said hall provost and house tutor totally failed to perform their responsibilities. The university proctor also showed negligence and indifference in discharging his duties, said the report. Fulpori, a first year student of Finance and Banking department, was tortured and humiliated by Islamic University unit of BCL vice-president Shanjida Chowdhury Antara and her cohorts at Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall on the campus in Kushtia on February 12. The incident came to light after the victim left the hall and disclosed the matter to her seniors and her family members the next day. The BCL leader also threatened that she would release the video on social media if the student discloses the matter to anyone, according to the complainant. The student lodged a written complaint with the university administration, including the university proctor, student adviser and the hall provost, demanding punishment of those involved in the incident on February 14. Two probe bodies were formed by the Islamic University authorities and the Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall administration after the victim’s complaints to them. The probe bodies submitted their probe reports to the university administration on Sunday. A writ petition was also filed by Gazi Mohammad Mohsin, an alumnus of the university and a lawyer, with the High Court. The Kushtia district administration, meanwhile, formed a three-member inquiry committee, led by additional district magistrate ANM Abujar Gifari, and asked it to submit the inquiry report within seven days following a High Court order on February 20. Accused BCL leader Antara and activist Tabassum left the hall following the High Court order. The five students were expelled from Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall on Monday as the hall authorities found their involvement in the assault on Fulpori.      

It is now two weeks since a first year student of the finance and banking department of Islamic University in Kushtia was made to endure a night of unspeakable torture and humiliation. Thanks to her courage and tenacity in filing a formal, written comlaint to the university authorities the very next day, this disturbing incident perpetrated by the university's Chhatra League unit, more specifically the leadership of the women's wing within that unit, couldn't be suppressed.  However the student body can't help but note that even though two weeks have passed since then, there has been no action taken till now against the prime accused:  IU BCL unit vice-president Shanjida Chowdhury Ontora and her cohorts, themselves all BCL activists even if not holding any post including Tabbassum, Israt Jahan Min, Halima Khatun Urmi and Maobiya. This holds true for both the university administration as well as the BCL unit.  Even thirteen days after the night of horror that played out at the Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall, authorities had failed to collect CCTV footage of that night from the hall. Many students are not surprised by that. They. allege that the number of ragging and torturing incidents have increased on campus due to the consistent lack of action against the perpetrators,  despite submitting written complaints to the university administration, as the latest victim did. REad: BCL-Torture: Prime accused appears before probe body "A couple of weeks have been passed but no action was taken against accused,"  Bangladesh Chhatra Union IU unit president Emanul Islam Shohan said. The university administration should have taken action against the accused after they had received the complaint from the victim but they did not do that, he added. IU law department Professor M Johurul Islam told UNB that the university administration could have primarily taken action against the accused under the code of conduct of the university. "There was no legal obstacle to taking action against the accused and the university authorities had many ways to take actions in this connection," he added. IU BCL unit president Faisal Siddike Arafat said that they formed a probe body in this connection. They would recommend to the central BCL to take organisational action against Ontora after getting the probe report. Ataur Rahman, father of the victim, said that he brought his daughter to the campus four times as part of the investigation. ‘The health condition of my daughter was not so good,’ he said. When asked about what he will do if she does not get justice, he said that he would lodge a case for legal action in this connection. Professor Reba Mondol, convener of the probe body formed by the university administration on February 15, could not be reached over phone despite repeated attempts for her comments in this regard. Read: VC’s leaked audio clips: IU postpones 3 departments’ recruitment process IU pro-vice-chancellor Professor M Mahbubur Rahman said that they would take stern action against the accused involved in the incident after getting the probe report. On February 12 night, a group of BCL activists led by Ontora and her cohorts including Tabassum went to the victim’s room and reportedly assaulted and tortured her. Ontora, at one stage, forced the victim to get undressed and videoed the incident on her mobile phone. The BCL leader also threatened that she would make the video viral on social media if the victim disclosed the matter to anyone, according to the complainant. The victim lodged a written complaint with the university administration, including the university proctor, student adviser and the hall provost, demanding punishment of those involved in the incident on February 14. A writ petition was also filed by Gazi Mohammad Mohsin, an alumnus of the university and a lawyer, with the High Court on Thursday. Kushtia district administration, meanwhile, formed a three-member inquiry committee, led by additional district magistrate ANM Abujar Gifari, and asked it to submit its report within seven days following a High Court order on February 20. Accused BCL leader Ontara and activist Tabassum left the hall following the High Court order. However they have reportedly apologised to the victim, effectively owning up to their guilt.

Islamic University Vice Chancellor’s personal secretary has been relieved from his post amid uproar over leak of several audio clips of conversations purportedly between the VC and a job seeker. HM Ali Hasan, acting registrar of IU, said VC’s personal secretary Ayub Ali has been relieved. “Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sheikh Abdus Salam called me on Wednesday night but I cannot go to his residence due to illness. Now I have prepared letter in this regard in the morning,” he said. Also read; VC’s leaked audio clips: IU postpones two recruitment boards However, the VC did not clear the reason behind it, he said. Earlier, on February 19, the authorities of Islamic University postponed the recruitment process of its three departments following the leak of some audio clips. A total of five audio clips, three between Oliur, a jobseeker at the Mass Communication and Journalism Department and the VC and two others with an official of a ministry went viral on Facebook. In the audio clips, the VC purportedly asked Oliur to collect two other candidates to fulfill the requirement for the department’s recruitment board.  

A group of former leaders and activists of Islamic University unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student organisation of  ruling Awami League, staged a demonstration on the campus in Kushtia for the third consecutive day on Wednesday demanding vice-chancellor Professor Shaikh Abdus Salam’s resignation. Around 30 ex-BCL leaders and activists of IU went to the Vice-Chancellor’s office and kept it under lock and key in the morning, to press home their demand. The protesters vowed to continue their demonstrations on the campus until their demand was met. Earlier, eight audio clips, three between Oliur, a jobseeker at the Mass Communication and Journalism Department and the VC and two others with an official of a ministry went viral on Facebook that sparked  protest and criticism. Also Read: Ex-BCL men stage demo at IU demanding VC’s resignation In the audio clip, the VC purportedly asked Oliur to collect two other candidates to fulfill the requirement for the department’s recruitment board. According to the audio clips, the VC told Oliur that he, Oliur, failed to write his answer to the question of the recruitment test held on October 25, 2022. He also told him that he was not good at his IQ. Also Read: VC’s leaked audio clips: IU postpones 3 departments’ recruitment process The VC advised him over the phone regarding the recruitment test. He assured Oliur that he did not accept the recruitment policy of the University Grants Commission regarding the requirement process of recruiting teachers at Journalism department. IU BCL unit former organising secretary Rasel Joarder told UNB that the vice-chancellor was a corrupt person the audio conversations between him and the job seeker that went viral on social media proved that. Also Read: HC orders Kushtia DC to probe ragging of a female student at IU On Friday night, IU acting registrar HM Ali Hasan filed a general diary with Islamic University police station in this connection.