TDS Desk:

A total of 27 students have been expelled from the hostel for one year for ragging fresher students at the Hossain Shahid Suhrawardy Hall of Bangladesh Agricultural University.

This was confirmed on Monday morning by the hall’s provost, Professor Bajlur Rahman Molya.

The provost said that the decision was made by the administration based on the university’s regulations, as the students were involved in misconduct. Among the expelled students, 26 are first-year (second semester) and second-year (second semester) students from the hall, and one is a graduate student.

Fresher students of Suhrawardy Hall revealed that on Saturday night at around 9pm, first-year students were called to the hall’s reading room. They were forced to leave their mobile phones in their rooms. Afterward, the accused students gave them a series of bizarre instructions.

These included rules such as: bicycles are not allowed, going to the second floor is prohibited, freshmen must salute seniors multiple times during the day, wearing lungis in the hall is not allowed, laptops are not allowed in the library, and they are not allowed to go to the canteen, among others.

During this time, some third-year students asked the freshmen about their problems. After hearing their concerns, the third-year students left. Subsequently, second-year students began abusing the freshmen in obscene language and forced them to perform various odd tasks.

At one point, one fresher student became so scared that they fell ill. When this incident became known, the university administration and hall authorities visited the hall on Sunday night, identified the involved students, and took action.

Professor Mohammad Saifullah, the associate student affairs adviser of the university, said that a total of 52 students were identified in connection with the incident at Suhrawardy Hall. Among them, 27 are legal residents of the hall, while the remaining 25 are students from other halls.

The 27 students have been expelled from the hall for one year, and their cases will be forwarded to the Disciplinary Committee for further punishment. Students who were staying illegally in the hall will also be identified and subjected to punishment.