Female student torture: HC scraps expulsion order against 5 IU BCL activists

The High Court on Wednesday scrapped an expulsion order against five students— a former leader and four former activists of Islamic University's ruling Awami League-backed student body Bangladesh Chhatra League — over torturing a first-year student of finance and banking department.

An HC bench of Justice JBM Hasan and Justice Razik Al Jalil passed the order after hearing a writ petition on Wednesday.

The court also asked the IU vice chancellor to redetermine the punishment of the five students and submit a report to HC on August 23.

Advocate Gazi Mohammad Muhsin, who filed the writ petition, confirmed the matter in the evening.

Earlier on July 15, the university administration expelled IU BCL unit former vice-president Shanjida Chowdhury Antora of statistics department and four of her associates, Tabassum Islam and Maobiya Jahan of finance and banking department, Halima Khatun Urmi of fine arts department and Israt Jahan Mim of law department of the university for one year.

The university authorities expelled them as per the university act, IU registrar office officials said.

A fresher of the finance and banking department was tortured and intimidated by the then IU unit BCL vice-president Shanjida Chowdhury Ontora and her associates, including Tabassum, Mim, Urmi and Maobiya, in Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall on the campus at night on February 12.

Ontora, at one stage, allegedly forced the victim to get undressed and videoed the incident on the mobile phone.

Ontora also reportedly threatened that she would make the video viral on social media if the victim disclosed the matter to anyone, according to the complaint the victim filed with the university administration, including the university proctor, student adviser and hall provost, on February 14.

On February 15, the university authorities formed a five-member probe body headed by IU law department chairperson Reba Mondol.

The bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil on February 16 asked the Kushtia deputy commissioner to investigate the incident by a three-member body and submit the report to it in seven working days.

Hearing a writ petition field by IU alumnus and lawyer Gazi Mohammad Mohsin, the court also asked the university authorities to keep the accused BCL leader and activists off the campus during the investigation.

Two probe bodies formed by the Islamic University authorities submitted their reports on February 26.

Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall administration expelled the five accused on February 27. On March 1, the Bangladesh Chhatra League expelled Ontora and the four activists for torturing and humiliating the female student.

Based on the probe report submitted by Kushtia district administration on February 28,, the High Court bench on March 1 asked the university to suspend the accused BCL leader and activists.

The court also asked the vice-chancellor and registrar of the university to immediately remove Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall provost Shamsul Alam and house tutors Moumita Akhter and Ishrat Jahan for their alleged negligence that led to the ill-treatment of the victim.

The IU authorities later suspended the five accused students from the university as well as removed Shamsul Alam as provost of Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall.

The university authorities had also notified Ontora and her four associates asking them to submit their responses to the complaint in seven working days.

The university administration also allocated a seat to the female student in Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall on her choice following the High Court order.