JCD activists confine Pro-VC over alleged vote rigging in CUCSU polls

Leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD)  confined  the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Chittagong University  to a building for nearly an hour and a half early Thursday, protesting alleged rigging during the vote count of the Chattogram University Central Students' Union (CUCSU) election.

Pro-VC  Professor Mohammad Kamal Uddin was held hostage around 1:00am on Thursday at the Faculty of Engineering’s IT Building where the vote counting was underway.

Chhatra Dal leaders alleged that their Vice President (VP) candidate for the Suhrawardy Hall students' union election was defeated through manipulation.

They demanded a re-count of the votes cast in Room 312 of the Engineering Faculty.

According to campus sources, police arrived around 2:30am in an attempt to escort the Pro-VC from the building.

However, as they reached the main gate of the building, Chhatra Dal activists again blocked their way, preventing his exit.

The Pro-VC was seen in discussions with Chhatra Dal's president, general secretary, and other leaders around 3 pm regarding the allegations raised over the Suhrawardy Hall vote.

Chhatra Dal claimed that their VP candidate, Jamadiul Awwal, received 1,203 votes, while Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed candidate Niamat Ullah allegedly won the post by securing 1,206 votes — a margin the JCD leaders suspect resulted from irregularities.

When asked about the incident, Pro-VC Professor Mohammad Kamal Uddin told reporters, “After the results were announced, I was leaving the hall when a group of students blocked my way, demanding a re-count of the votes. I informed them that such matters should be addressed to the election commissioner. But they did not accept that and kept me confined in a room for nearly 90 minutes. Later, police came and rescued me.”