A group of Jahangirnagar University students on Wednesday night seized seven buses of a private transport company plying on the Dhaka-Aricha highway, alleging that one of their fellow students had been physically assaulted by the transport company鈥檚 staff.
The incident took place at about 11:00pm near the university鈥檚 main gate along the Dhaka鈥揂richa highway.
The detained buses of 鈥楽elfie Paribahan鈥� were later parked at the university鈥檚 central playground, students said.
The victim Safayet Islam is a student of the 51st batch of the accounting and information systems department of the university.
Describing the incident, Safayet said, 鈥業 boarded a Dhaka-bound bus, but midway, the staff stopped the vehicle and tried to force all passengers to get off, citing a lack of passengers.鈥�
鈥榃hen I refused to get down, the driver and helper attacked me. During the scuffle, other drivers and helpers from nearby vehicles joined in and assaulted the passengers near Nabinagar area in Savar鈥�, he said.
One passenger sustained a serious head injury and was later admitted to Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar following the incident, according to the hospital authorities.
Following the assault, the injured student and his peers returned to the campus and staged a demonstration in front of the main gate, detaining seven 鈥楽elfie Paribahan鈥� buses in protest.
A representative of Selfie Paribahan Moyazzem Ali said, 鈥榃e heard that one of our staff members assaulted a university student. Students have detained several of our buses. We are trying to identify the helper.鈥�
JU proctor AKM Rashidul Alam condemned the incident, calling it 鈥榟ighly regrettable.鈥�
He said, 鈥楾he bus owners have informed us that they will visit the campus on Thursday. The university administration will take necessary measures once discussions are held.鈥�
