Comilla Victoria College Principal Confined for 8 Hours, Students Demand Resignation

In a dramatic turn of events, students of Comilla Victoria Government College confined the college principal, Abul Basar Bhuiyan, for over eight hours in the mosque of the college’s Degree-Honors campus in Dharmapur, a suburb of Comilla city, demanding his resignation. The incident began on Monday afternoon and continued until late at night.

According to the students, they announced a nine-point demand, including the establishment of a student council election, on the previous Thursday. However, with no progress on their demands, they decided to confine the principal in the mosque until he resigned. Despite repeated pressure, the principal did not submit a resignation letter but reportedly stated that he would not return to the college if necessary and would inform the National University about the matter. Around 10:30 PM on Monday, the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Comilla Adarsha Sadar, Fatema Tuz Johra, and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Tanjina Jahan arrived at the scene. They spoke with the students and urged them to maintain peace. Later, Additional Superintendent of Police (Comilla Sadar Circle) Saiful Malik and Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kotwali Model Police Station Mahinul Islam reached the campus. The principal was escorted home under police security around 11:15 PM. Efforts to contact Principal Abul Basar Bhuiyan for his statement were unsuccessful. OC Mahinul Islam stated that the police took control of the situation and ensured the principal’s safe return home. The students had given the college administration a two-day deadline to address their demands following a press conference last Thursday. When no action was taken, they met with the administration on Monday afternoon but left the meeting dissatisfied due to a lack of concrete assurances or a clear roadmap. This led to protests and the confinement of the principal. The students’ demands include holding student council elections, establishing a separate modern campus for the Degree section, ensuring security with CCTV and lighting, setting up a police outpost, launching a bus service, resolving waterlogging issues, providing clean drinking water and modern washrooms, creating a fund for social and cultural activities, and publishing all financial accounts on the college website. Mofidul Hasan, a protesting student, said, “The principal does not address any of the students’ problems. We demand his resignation.” Another student, Zahidul Islam, added, “We’ve heard that female students in the hostel face mental pressure. It’s unheard of for a teacher to be the admin of the hostel’s Facebook group. If girls speak up, they are threatened with show-cause notices, calls to guardians, or meetings. None of our nine demands have been met, and we are left feeling insecure. We want the principal removed. It’s been a year since the attack on student Tamim by Chhatra League during the July protests, yet the administration hasn’t released the investigation report despite media coverage. Why so much secrecy?” Sultana Nasrin, another student, remarked, “There’s no water in the hostel, and raising concerns yields no solutions. Despite presenting nine demands, nothing has been resolved. We don’t want this principal.”