DU students clash with restaurant staff at Rabindra Sarobar; 16 injured

At least 16 people were injured after a clash broke out between shopkeepers and students of Dhaka University at Rabindra Sarobar in the capital‍‍`s Dhanmondi yesterday.

The injured students are Mahfuzur Rahman Alif, Bayejid, Nasif, Azim Mahmud Tauhid, Sifatul Islam, Ajaha, Mahin, and Junaid.

They were immediately taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment, said inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) police outpost.

Meanwhile, injured restaurant staff were taken to Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, said Borhan Uddin, manager of Bachelor Point Kebab shop.

The injured are Habib, Arif, Ripon, Al Amin Islam, Alim Mia, Arif, Alamin, and Borhan Uddin. All are the staff of Bachelor Point Variates Kabab shop and Juice Bar and Kabab shop in the area.

The students said some of their friends went to Rabindra Sarobar and chatted and played cards in a shop around 6:30pm. A staff of the shop told them to sit elsewhere and they were not allowed to play cards there. At one stage, the staff verbally abused one of the female students.

"After hearing about the matter some of our classmates and friends went there to resolve the issue but the staff of the shops beat them with rods and sticks, leaving them injured," a student alleged.

When contacted, manager and staff of the shop alleged, students without any reason carried out an attack and vandalised their shops. They also snatched money from the cash box.

"As our cash box was open, they took our money amounting to more than 1 lakh," he added.

"When they came to settle the matter, I and my staff apologised to them but they didn‍‍`t pay any attention," the manager informed.

Officer-in-Charge of Dhanmondi Police Station Parvez Islam said no complaint has been received yet.

"We have scheduled to talk with the DU proctor this evening. If he files any complaint, we will take action," added the OC.