JU students vow to continue protests as attempted rape suspect remains at large

Students of Jahangirnagar University, under the banner of Narir Nirapotta Mancha (Women's Safety Platform), on Tuesday vowed to continue their protest until their six-point demands are met, expressing frustration over the failure to identify or arrest the suspect in the attempted rape and attempted murder of a female student 75 days after the incident.

The announcement came at a rally held in front of the university's administrative building.

Speaking at the programme, Anthropology student Anika Tabassum Farabi said that despite nearly two and a half months having passed since the attack, law enforcement agencies had yet to identify the alleged assailant.

She also alleged that several incidents of harassment involving female students had occurred on campus since then, raising fresh concerns over students' safety.

Suma Dumri, a student of the Department of Archaeology, said the platform had placed a six-point charter of demands before the university administration following the incident, but none had been implemented.

She alleged that although the administration had repeatedly claimed to have taken steps to address the demands, no visible progress had been made.

Addressing the rally, Nazeeha Binte Shamsuddin, a student of the Department of Economics, described women's safety on campus as a "structural problem" and criticised the administration for taking what she termed piecemeal measures, including installing barbed-wire fencing in parts of the campus, instead of introducing comprehensive reforms.

She claimed that although CCTV cameras and other security measures had been introduced following previous incidents, crimes had not declined.

The protesters demanded the immediate identification and arrest of the suspect, implementation of their six-point demands and effective measures to ensure the safety of female students. They warned that their movement would intensify if the demands were not met.

The demonstrators also noted that the university's Proctor Office has remained locked for more than two months.

Students locked the office on 16 May while demanding the resignation of Proctor Prof AKM Rashidul Alam, accusing him of failing to ensure campus safety following the attempted rape of a female student on 12 May. More than two months later, the office remains under lock and key.