SUST Students Protest Academic Expulsion of Two Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal Leaders

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Students at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) held a protest on Wednesday, demanding a reduction in the academic penalties imposed on two student leaders recently expelled for assaulting a fellow student. The demonstration, held mid-afternoon, was organized by students from the departments of Political Studies and Statistics and saw participation from several members of the local Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) unit.

The disciplinary action stems from an altercation on July 18 involving Khairul Khandaker, a first-year sociology student. The incident was reportedly triggered by a dispute over the quality of food at the Shahparan Hall canteen, which Khandaker had criticized in a WhatsApp group. Following the dispute, Hasibur Rahman of the Political Studies department and Tareq Rahman of the Statistics department—both of whom held executive positions within the university’s JCD branch—were accused of physically assaulting the younger student.

The confrontation led to three days of continuous campus protests. In response to the unrest, the JCD leadership expelled both Rahman and his associate from the organization on July 19. Subsequently, the university administration formed a three-member probe committee to investigate the assault. Following the confirmation of the allegations, a special syndicate meeting held on Tuesday night finalized a decision to suspend both students for four semesters.

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During Wednesday’s protest, peers of the suspended students argued that the punishment was overly severe, characterizing the assault as a spur-of-the-moment incident. Hriday Ahsan, a student from the Political Studies department, described the disciplinary measures as inhumane and urged the administration to consider the academic future of the two final-year students.

Sabbir Hossain, a student from the statistics department, echoed these sentiments, acknowledging that his peers had committed a wrongdoing but pleading for leniency. He stated that the protesters hoped the administration would review the decision and provide the suspended students with an opportunity to continue their studies despite the gravity of the incident.