Over 200 Students Injured As RU Students Clash with Locals Over Bus Seats

More than 200 Rajshahi University students were injured in a clash with locals over bus seats on Saturday.

The incident took place at the university's Binodpur gate on Saturday evening, said Prof Sultan Ul Islam, Pro-VC of the university.

The injured are now receiving treatment at Rajshahi University Medical Center and Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital, reports UNB.

At least 10 campus journalists were also injured while covering the incident.

Witnesses said that Akash, a student of the university, was coming to Rajshahi by bus from Bogura.

Akash talked to driver Shariful and supervisor Ripon about sitting on the bus but an argument took place between them.

When the bus reached the Binodpur area of the university, they again got involved in an argument, and that led to a clash afterward.

Later, a local shopkeeper came and got into an argument with the students.

At that point, a clash broke out between them.

During the clash, the students set fire to several shops and the police box at Binodpur gate.

On information, police rushed to the spot and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse them.  

Until the time of writing this report at 11pm, the situation remained unchanged.

In this regard, RU Proctor Professor Asabul Haque said: “We are trying to control the situation. Law enforcement is also working right now.”

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed in the area.

Meanwhile, the university authority suspended all classes and exams for the next two days following the clash.