Classes Suspended at Chittagong University After Clashes With Villagers

Chittagong University (CU) remained closed for classes and examinations on Monday following violent clashes between students and residents of nearby Jobra village. As of Monday morning, no formal case had been filed regarding the incident.

The usually lively campus was quiet, though administrative activities, including recruitment tests, continued as scheduled. CU has approximately 27,550 students across 48 departments and six institutes. Examinations planned for Sunday were postponed, and regular classes were largely disrupted, but staff and teacher transport services operated normally.

Acting Controller of Examinations Professor Momtaz Uddin Ahmed confirmed the suspension, telling Prothom Alo, “Considering yesterday’s situation, classes and exams have been suspended today. Teachers’ buses are running as usual. We will announce soon whether classes will resume tomorrow.”

Details of the Incident

The unrest began around 12:30 am on Saturday and continued sporadically until 3:00 pm on Sunday. Clashes erupted after a female student was allegedly assaulted by a dormitory security guard. Attempts by university authorities, including Pro Vice Chancellors Professor Mohammad Shamim Uddin Khan and Professor Md Kamal Uddin and Proctor Tanvir Mohammad Haidar Arif, to mediate were unsuccessful.

Bricks, stones, rods, pipes, and wooden sticks were used during the confrontations, with villagers reportedly also wielding machetes. The violence spread into the narrow alleys of Jobra village, leaving many students injured. By early Sunday afternoon, the Hathazari upazila administration imposed Section 144 (prohibitory orders) over the university area.

At least 220 people were injured, nearly 200 of them students. Three students remain in critical condition and are receiving treatment at private hospitals in Chattogram, including one in the ICU.

University Response

University Acting Registrar Professor Mohammad Saiful Islam stated, “The administration is preparing to file a case regarding the incident. We hope classes and exams will return to normal tomorrow. The university is taking full responsibility for medical expenses for the injured students, whether they are treated at hospitals or clinics.”

How It Started

According to students, the clashes began when a female student from the Department of Philosophy, renting a room near Gate No. 2, was assaulted by the building’s security guard around 12:15 am Saturday. When she protested and attempted to enter the building, the guard allegedly slapped and kicked her. Her roommates and neighbors intervened, and as news spread, students gathered near Jobra village.

The situation escalated quickly into violent confrontations with villagers, prompting army personnel to intervene around 3:30 am. Traffic from Gate No. 2 through Jobra to the Chattogram–Hathazari highway was blocked for a period.

Hathazari Police Station Officer-in-Charge Abu Kawsar Mohammad Hossain confirmed that, as of Monday morning, no cases had been filed and no arrests had been made.