Jahangirnagar University Administrative Building Locked, VC and Officials Trapped Inside; Lock Later Broken to Free Them

Students of the Institute of Comparative Literature and Culture (ICLC) at Jahangirnagar University (JU) locked the new administrative building over the appointment of the institute's director. Vice-Chancellor Professor Md Nurul Islam and several administration officials were trapped inside the building.

Later, leaders and activists of the campus unit of Chhatra Dal arrived in a procession and broke the lock to bring them out, it was reported.

Earlier, at around 4:30pm, some 20 to 25 students of the institute put a lock on the main gate of the administrative building.

On Monday, an office order gave Professor Mostafa Nazmul Mansur of the Department of Philosophy charge as the new director of the Institute of Comparative Literature and Culture. Dissatisfaction grew among the institute's teachers and students after the appointment.

Associate Professor Mohammad Kamrul Haque Hamim of the institute objected, saying the appointment went against the rules. Leaders and activists of the campus Chhatra Dal, meanwhile, were seen posting on Facebook calling Mohammad Kamrul Hamim a collaborator of autocracy.

University sources said that at around 4pm the institute's students locked the administrative building demanding that a director be appointed from among their own teachers. A syndicate meeting was under way inside the new administrative building at the time.

When the syndicate meeting ended, the vice-chancellor came out and found the main gate of the building locked.

Chhatra Dal leaders and activists then took position in front of the administrative building. They chanted various slogans and tension spread. At one stage, the Chhatra Dal leaders and activists broke the lock of the administrative building and brought out the vice-chancellor and the others.

The students alleged that a director had been appointed from another department even though the institute has qualified teachers. They said they locked the administrative building demanding that the appointment be withdrawn and a director appointed from among their department's teachers. They also alleged that the vice-chancellor, instead of hearing their demand, called in Chhatra Dal and made the situation murky.

Chhatra Dal leaders, however, denied breaking the lock. Campus Chhatra Dal convener Zahir Uddin Mohammad Babar said, 'We did not break the lock, general students broke it. We were present at the scene.'

Vice-Chancellor Nurul Islam told reporters, 'The Honourable President has given me the responsibility of working at this university. I am the guardian of this university. If students have any problem or need, they will meet me and talk to me. But they have no authority to lock the registrar building and obstruct academic activities.'

The vice-chancellor also said, 'Those who put the lock, and the teachers who are behind it or who instigated it, will all be identified and action will be taken against them according to university rules.'