After a long, violent day, now a long, scary night at JU

It’s been a long day marred by violent clashes between protesters and law enforcers, BGB, students at Jahangirnagar University. Now is a dark scary night on the campus.

With hundreds of students leaving the dormitory halls of the university, frequent power outages and internet disruptions, the fear of attack has only grown stronger for those who stayed or couldn’t go.

“There are less than 20 of us in my hall now. There is no power since 10:00pm, no wi-fi either. Mobile network is also facing issues,” a student told TBS after midnight over the phone. 

“We are getting various types of information. It’s scary. We are always wondering what might happen,” the student added.

They also said only a handful of the students are currently staying in the halls. “Everyone’s panicking.”

Earlier at night, according to journalists present on the spots, teachers and students were fearing they might come under attack by unidentified men, believed to be ‘outsiders’, who were reported to be entering the campus earlier tonight.

At the same time, there was also the fear of a police raid which might turn violent, students said.

Many teachers of the university have invited the students to stay at their homes considering the situation.

Earlier in the day, many universities in the country, including JU, asked the students to vacate halls amid deadly violence centring on ongoing quota reform protests.

Over 100 students were injured at Jahangirnagar University as police action began.

Most of them were wounded by rubber bullets fired by the police, Dr Md Shamsur Rahman, the chief medical officer at the university’s medical centre told The Business Standard.

“Starting from 5:30pm, injured students started to arrive at the medical centre. By 8pm, we had treated about 60-70 students, 10-15 of whom were severely injured and referred to Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar,” he added.

In the evening, some students got on a microbus from Jahangirnagar University and began to exit the campus, reports our correspondent.

After travelling a short distance, they were stopped by police.

The policemen then forced the door of the microbus to be opened and began to attack the students indiscriminately.

They opened both doors and started kicking the students and hitting them with rifle butts.

One of the policemen then suddenly pointed his rifle at the students, ready to shoot, when others stopped him.

Prothom Alo correspondent Abdullah Al Mamun was brutally beaten by the policemen as he was recording the video during the incident. 

Outsiders entered the campus?

Around 1am, a student, staying off-campus, talking to TBS expressed deep concerns over the safety and well-being of students who remained on the campus amidst the ongoing tensions.

“There are still some students in the dormitories who are in a state of extreme fear, uncertain about what might happen next. Meanwhile, numerous rumours are circulating about fights breaking out and other incidents happening on campus. Additionally, the dormitories are without electricity and network access.”

He added, “From what I have heard, some outsiders have also entered the campus, though this has not been confirmed. Overall, the students who are still on campus, as well as those of us who are off-campus, are in a very bad mental state.”