Rajshahi, July 28 (V7N)Criminals have recently caused destruction in Rajshahi University's (RU) dorms. They have destroyed 19 motorcycles, put one dorm on fire, and vandalized 158 rooms in ten different dorms. The vandalism has resulted in damage totaling 4 crore BDT. A committee comprising five members has been established to look into the vandalism and arson occurrences that have occurred in the dorms.

According to RU sources, the investigation committee was formed on Thursday to look into the incidents of vandalism and arson in the residential halls. Professor S.M. Ekram Ullah, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, has been appointed as the head of the committee. Professor Md. Mozammel Hossain Bakul, Head of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, has been made the member secretary. The committee has been given eight weeks to submit their investigation report detailing the incident, the extent of the damage, and recommendations on what actions should be taken.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Golam Sabbir Sattar stated that the violence that took place was very unfortunate. Initially, the movement for quota reform was a protest by the general students, but later outsiders infiltrated and carried out arson and vandalism on the campus. He clarified that the students did not besiege him or the teachers; rather, the outsiders took advantage of the movement to enter the campus. Fearing a major act of sabotage, they were compelled to send out a message and a joint force came to rescue them.

Professor Golam Sabbir Sattar further mentioned that the safety of the students must be ensured first and the dormitories must be made habitable. Some dormitories have been damaged to such an extent that anyone seeing them would be deeply hurt. Therefore, they do not want students to witness this damage and have taken initiatives to renovate the halls.

Describing the incident, he said that on that day, the students did not besiege them. They noticed a large number of armed outsiders entering the campus, blowing whistles. They locked the administrative building, cut off the electricity, and attempted to blow up the generator. As a result, he, along with about fifty teachers and around a hundred employees, were trapped. Realizing that the situation could lead to sabotage, they sent out a message, and the joint forces rescued them.

Vice-Chancellor Golam Sabbir Sattar stated that the scale of the attack by the terrorists is very alarming for the future. He urged everyone to remain calm and for students to think about how they want to move forward. Because a university is about progress, if we stand still for a day, we fall behind. We have to go a long way.

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