Chattogram University (CU) has postponed all academic examinations following violent clashes that erupted between students and local residents near the campus centring an incident of a female student being allegedly harassed by a guard of a building late Saturday night (30 August).

CU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Professor Dr Md Kamal Uddin confirmed the incident to the media on Sunday morning and stated that all exams scheduled for the day have been suspended, taking student safety and the overall situation into consideration.

“Further decisions regarding the exams will be made later,” he said.

Earlier, at 12:15am, Safia Khatun, a first-year student of philosophy department, went to the building she lives in as a tenant. The building is located near the university’s gate No 2.

As it was past the deadline for closing the front gate, the gatekeeper refused to unlock the entrance despite Safia’s repeated requests. She, however, claimed she reached the gate early as usual.

The gatekeeper verbally abused her, and as she responded, pushed her, Safia claimed. As her roommates came down to intervene, the gatekeeper even pushed her down and kicked her, she alleged.

He later fled the scene. A group of students pursued him, only to face stiff local resistance. A chase and counter-chase ensued.

Later, both sides called in reinforcements by using microphones at two nearby mosques. As the conflict escalated, the number of injured students climbed.

Police rushed to the spot around 12:45am but could not enter the No 2 road near the campus as a large number of locals patrolled the site with sharp weapons. Proctor Mohammad Tanvir Haider claimed locals vandalised vehicles of proctorial team and police.

Many locals even went to door-to-door to threaten students living in the university’s neighbourhood.

He even made a Facebook post calling on “everyone” to extend support to university students and teachers. Later, army intervention stabilised the situation. Legal proceedings would be taken over the incident, Proctor Tanvir Haider has told reporters.