DU VC loses temper in face of protests

Dhaka University (DU) Vice-Chancellor (VC) Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan lost his temper while talking to protesting students, blaming the administration’s negligence for the murder of Chhatra Dal leader Shahriar Alam Samyo.

A tense situation arose when DU Vice-Chancellor Niaz Ahmed came forward to speak to the agitating students. He told them: “If you think that you and I belong to separate parties, I am standing here; beat me.”

Pointing to the agitating students, the VC said, “Don’t shout.” Then one of the students told the VC, “Don’t do the cinema, sir, don’t do the cinema.”

Protesting the killing and bringing an allegation of the administration’s failure to provide security on campus, students demanded the resignation of the vice-chancellor and proctor. They staged a demonstration across the campus with their procession.

Shahriar Alam Samyo, 25, a 2018-19 session student of the Institute of Education and Research at the Dhaka University and Chhatra Dal’s Literary and Publication Secretary of A.F. Rahman Hall unit, was murdered following a brutal attack with sharp weapon near Ramna Kali Mandir gate, near to campus, on late Tuesday night.

According to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), Samyo was brought in shortly after midnight in a severely injured state and was pronounced dead on arrival. Hospital staff confirmed that multiple sharp weapon injuries were found across his body.

Just hours before the attack, Samyo had posted a video on Facebook showing him singing with friends at a public concert held at Suhrawardy Udyan, where prominent bands performed.

Witness accounts suggest the incident stemmed from a motorcycle collision near the Suhrawardy Udyan open stage. An argument reportedly escalated into a physical confrontation, during which Samyo was stabbed in the thigh with a sharp weapon. The assailant fled the scene immediately afterward.

Samyo hailed from Sirajganj’s Ullapara upazila and began his education at Momena Ali Biggan School in Jhikira. He later studied at BAF Shaheen College in Dhaka Cantonment and BCIC College in Mirpur before enrolling at Dhaka University as a student of the Class of 2024.