DHAKA — Hundreds of students at Rajuk Uttara Model College (RUMC) launched a massive protest and locked the main gates of the institution on Sunday (June 14), resisting the reinstatement of a highly controversial administrative officer accused of targeting students during the 2024 mass uprising.
The demonstration broke out around 12:30 PM when students occupied the campus grounds, shutting operations and chanting slogans such as "Ek, dui, tui, char, Azhar tui godi char" (One, two, three, four, Azhar leave your post) and "Durniti na shikhkha, shikhkha shikhkha" (Education, not corruption).
Despite emergency talks between student coordinators, the Vice-Principal, and Principal Brigadier General Saiful Haque Ahmed, the standoff remains completely unresolved as students refuse to leave until the appointment is permanently cancelled.
Key Escalations and Bribery Allegations
The protest intensified rapidly due to the aggressive manner of Azhar's return to the campus today. According to student coordinators:
Forced Entry and Exclusion: Azhar arrived on campus backed by local police and outside political operatives to occupy the administrative offices, while general students faced severe restrictions and were barred from entering their own campus.
Bribery Tactics: Student leaders revealed that they were offered financial bribes on the spot by the official's camp to drop their resistance—a move that backfired and fueled further student fury.
The Core Grievance: Threats, Locks, and Denying Aid Under Fire
The student body refuses to compromise due to Azhar’s documented history of abuse and anti-student activities, which dates back to the historic July Movement and led to his initial removal eight months ago.
According to protesting students, his actions during the 2024 uprising crossed severe humanitarian lines:
Threats to Academic Life: Azhar routinely weaponized his administrative power, threatening to destroy the academic lives of participating students and aggressively pressuring them to abandon the movement.
Denying Shelter and Water: On July 18, 2024, when RUMC students were trapped outside under live fire from state forces, the college gates were deliberately locked. When students finally forced the gates open, Azhar actively stopped teachers from giving water to the exhausted students and went on to lock the campus canteen to cut off all basic aid.
Culture of Fear: Students state that he systematically ran the campus through intimidation, regularly threatening dissenting students with formal show-cause notices and forcing media outlets to take down critical reports about his corruption.
Current Status: Ultimatums and Refusal to Disperse
Faced with a complete campus shutdown, Principal Brigadier General Saiful Haque Ahmed asked the protesting students for a two-day window to raise the issue with higher ministry authorities and execute a solution.
However, the student body flatly rejected this bureaucratic delay, stating that allowing an official who routinely intimidated students and locked them out during gunfire back onto campus is an immediate safety threat. The student alliance maintains that the gates will remain locked and protests will escalate if an unconditional dismissal order is not issued immediately.
Videos:
Courtesy: Channel 24
Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Wa9f1rW3V/
NEWS: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18i9LS7Gzr/ -- RTV News
https://thedailycampus.com/college/258644 -The Daily Campus
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DnUxF12M3/ -- bd24live
Other videos links:
01. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1LFaNxu1BL/ (রাজউক উত্তরা মডেল কলেজে শিক্ষার্থীদের বিক্ষোভের মুখে শিক্ষার্থীদের সামনে এসে কথা বলছেন প্রিন্সিপাল | Uttara Protest | Principal Speech)
02. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BSXAZdd3Y/ (শিক্ষার্থীদের বিক্ষোভের মুখে বাইরে এসে শিক্ষার্থীদের সঙ্গে কথা বলছেন রাজউক উত্তরা মডেল কলেজের প্রিন্সিপাল | Uttara Protest | Principal Talk)
03. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1018981537151292/ (আওয়ামী পন্থী ঊর্ধ্বতন কর্মকর্তা নিয়োগের প্রতিবাদে রাজউক উত্তরা মডেল কলেজে শিক্ষার্থীদের বিক্ষোভ, প্রিন্সিপালের রুমের সামনে অবস্থান | Uttara Protest | Appointment Issue)
04. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HG8SLybCU/ (রাজউক উত্তরা মডেল কলেজে প্রিন্সিপালের সাথে শিক্ষার্থীদের আলোচনা | Uttara Clash | Principal Students)
05. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1522074253266263/
06. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1a76sBc9fs/
07. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1HzkpeHiPh/ (রাজউক উত্তরা মডেল কলেজে শিক্ষার্থীদের বিক্ষোভ, আওয়ামী পন্থী এডমিনের অফিসের বসার চেয়ার বাইরে বের করে এনেছে শিক্ষার্থীরা | Uttara Protest | Admin Chair Issue)
08. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18m6HdCgLw/