KUSHTIA: At least 50 people were wounded, including the assistant proctor of the Islamic University, as police charged baton to quell demonstrations against an attack on varsity vehicles by Chhatra League supporters Thursday, campus sources said.   

Witnesses said police clubbed the university students who were staging a sit-in on the Kushtia-Jhenidah highway at noon to protest the attack by BCL men on the student transport.

At least 30 people were picked up from the spot of melee, said police sources.

The sources said general students of IU took to the street in protest against the BCL attack on the university transport and staged a sit-in in front of the university garage. They later barricaded the Kushtia-Jhenidah highway at about 11:00 am.

A police team led by additional police super of Kushtia Subhash Chandra Saha charged baton on the students, leaving at least 50 people injured, including assistant proctor of IU Touhidul Islam Tamal.

Police picked up 30 students from the scene amid chaos in which five cops were also reported hurt.   

Subhash said, “We were bound to charge baton on the students as they refused to withdraw from their demo.”

University proctor Mahbub Arefin said, “It is unfortunate that police charged baton on us though we wanted a peaceful solution of the ongoing crisis.”

Earlier in the morning, at least 10 students were injured as a group of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists ransacked five university vehicles to press their demand for immediate release of four university-unit BCL leaders.

The four leaguers were sent to jail on July 9, a day after police arrested them during a raid on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahan Hall.

BDST: 01:30 HRS, JULY 22, 2010.