CUET VC still confined as power, water supplies cut off

The vice-chancellor of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) remained confined inside his office on Monday as protesting students locked the building from outside and disconnected its electricity and water supplies.

Professor Sheikh Shariful Alam, the newly appointed vice-chancellor, entered his office on Monday morning after breaking a padlock on the building’s gate.

However, hundreds of protesting students later gathered outside the building, chanting slogans and demanding his resignation.

The students had earlier given him an ultimatum to leave the office by noon before locking the entrance again.

The protest stems from the appointment of Sheikh Shariful Alam on September 21, replacing former vice-chancellor Professor Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem.

Students are demanding Sayem’s reinstatement and have been enforcing an indefinite shutdown since September 22.

Teachers, officers and employees have also joined the protest through work stoppages, leaving academic activities, including classes and examinations, suspended for 20 days.

Several people, including leaders of the CUET unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, were also inside the locked building alongside the vice-chancellor.

The standoff continued amid growing tensions on the campus over the controversial appointment.