Jahangirnagar Students Block Administration Building Over Attempted Rape Accountability

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Female students at Jahangirnagar University initiated an indefinite blockade of the institution’s new administrative building on Sunday, demanding the swift arrest and trial of an assailant accused of attempting to rape a fellow student. The protest, which began around 10:00 AM, involved locking two gates of the building.

The demonstration follows an earlier action on Saturday, when students declared the university’s proctorial team unwelcome and locked the proctor’s office.

The alleged attempted rape occurred on May 12, around 11:00 PM, when a student was reportedly dragged into darkness from a road near the abandoned Fazilatunnesa Hall. University authorities subsequently filed a case at Ashulia Police Station against an unidentified individual, but five days after the incident, the suspect remains at large.

Student activists expressed profound dissatisfaction with the administration’s perceived apathy, stating that the lack of progress in identifying or apprehending the suspect, despite the gravity of the incident on campus, has fueled their anger. The blockade aims to ensure accountability from the university administration and secure the immediate arrest and trial of the accused.

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Fahmida Mun, a 52nd-batch student of Urban and Regional Planning and one of the organizers, stated that their primary demand was the apprehension of the rapist within 48 hours. She warned that failure to do so should result in the resignation of the entire proctorial body, citing a series of incidents under Proctor Professor A. K. M. Rashidul Alam’s tenure. Mun affirmed that students would maintain their blockade of the registrar’s building until the administration provides a concrete timeline for the suspect’s capture.

Adrita Roy, a 53rd-batch student of Drama and Dramatics, criticized the administration’s “utter lack of discretion and responsibility” regarding the incident. She recounted an unsuccessful attempt to obtain an update on the investigation and arrest process from the Vice-Chancellor. Roy emphasized that the protest aims to pressure the Vice-Chancellor for answers and ensure justice for their peer, noting that 106 hours had passed with no tangible action, only vague assurances of “progress” and “updates” without specifics.