Session jam in the pharmacy department of Jahangirnagar University took a heavy toll on the students of the 2016-17 session, as they are still waiting for their honors 3rd-year final examination results, while their batchmates in other departments have already graduated. Students of that department sat for their 3rd-year final examination more than a year ago. The results are yet to be published, and the department has already taken their 4th-year final examination. Now the students are in a quandary about whether they would lose another two academic years if they needed to re-admit in the same year. As the department has already taken the 4th year’s examination before publishing the 3rd year’s results, students who get F grades in more than two subjects will lose another two years. Because they would then have to sit for the same exams with two batches of junior session (2018-19 session), as their immediate batch’s (2017-18 session) examination of the third year was already held. Dr. Mohammad Didare Alam Muhsin, chairman of the pharmacy department, stressed that the department took the 4th-year final examination to reduce session jams. When the JU correspondent of UNB contacted Dr. Farid Ahmed,  then exam controller and the current dean of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences faculty, he declined to comment on the matter. “I can’t recall anything now. So I won’t comment on this matter,” he said. Also Read: JU student alleges torture by Chhatra League activists Md. Masudur Rahman, then deputy controller of the Office of the Controller of Examination, echoed his senior, saying, “I’m on leave for preparatory retirement (LPR) now. Just as I left my duties, I erased everything from my memory in seven days."   According to the rules of the university, if any students fail in two subjects and have a minimum CGPA, they can continue their studies with their own batch. But if any student fails in more than two subjects, they will have to drop a year. The university rules also state that the results of the final examination must be published within three months. Preferring anonymity, a former dean of the university confirmed that no special permission was obtained from the vice chancellor as per university rules. Associate Professor of the department, Tania Binte Wahid, was the chairman of the exam committee for the third year, and Prof. Sohel Rana and Associate Professor Sukalyan Kumar Kunda were members. Tania Binte Wahid took leave from the university and went abroad without publishing their results, according to administrative sources. Five months after appointing another chairman, Prof. Mafruhi Sattar, the matter is still up in the air. The students also allege that, even though the department took their theoretical examination, they are still in the dark about their "industrial training," without which they won’t be able to graduate. The students are yet to know whether they will be able to graduate, and they are deeply concerned about their careers. Seeking anonymity, one of the students said, “Our friends in other departments have already graduated, and we are still waiting for our third-year results.” “We can’t take part in any competitive examinations like BCS or even in jobs in our subject-related field," they continued. They also allege that this situation came to this point because their teachers were too busy taking classes at private universities. Dr. Mohammad Didare Alam Muhsin, chairman of the pharmacy department, said the session jam was created mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic. “We only had permission to take theoretical exams online during that time. We are planning to take the practical examination,” he said. He said the department contacted several companies for their industrial training. “We hope to solve this problem soon,” he added. The chairman of the exam committee, Prof. Mafruhi Sattar, couldn't be reached.  

A Sunamganj court on Sunday placed the accused pharmacy owner and two others on eight-day remand each for gang raping a woman, killing her and later slicing her body into pieces to hide their crime. Judicial Magistrate Abdur Rahim passed the order after Inspector (CID) Liton Dewan, investigation officer in the case produced the accused before court and sought 10-days in remand for each. After the court granted the remand, accused pharmacy owner Jitesh Chandra Gop,30, Anjit Chandra Gop,38, and Ashit Gop, 36 were taken under Criminal Investigation Department’s custody, said Sunamganj court Inspector Md Badrul Alam Talukdar. Also read: Sunamganj pharmacy owner, 2 others sliced woman’s body after rape: CID On February 17, six body parts of Shahnaz Parvin Jyotsna,35, wife of an expatriate,  were recovered from the pharmacy named Ovi Medical Hall in Jagannathpur municipality area in Sunamganj. The same day, a case was filed at Jagannathpur police station against Jitesh following a complaint lodged by Shahnaz’s brother Helal Ahmed. On February 18, CID arrested the three accused from Dhaka and Sunamganj. During primary interrogation, the arrestees confessed to killing Shahnaz after rape and then cutting her body into pieces to hide their crime, said CID. Also read: Gang rape of Thakurgaon school girl: 2 arrested According to the accused, Shahnaz, mother of three children, had a good relationship with Jitesh as she used to buy most of her family’s medicines from his pharmacy. On Wednesday afternoon, Shahnaz went to Jitesh’s pharmacy as he assured her of suggesting some medicines for her confidential medical issues. He kept her waiting in the room behind the shop and later with the help of two more shop owners- Anjit and Ashit -made her unconscious by swallowing sleeping pills. They raped her in the late hours of night and strangled her to death when Shahnaz said she will inform her family about the incident. Later they cut her body into six pieces with a sharp knife and packed those in boxes. They were planning to dump the boxes into a pond, said CID.