Vice-Chancellor of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) Dr Saiful Islam on Tuesday evening assured the protesting students that their all the demands will be fulfilled. 

He came up with the assurance while addressing the protesting students after a meeting with provosts of all eight residential halls on the campus.

The Buet VC appeared before the students nearly 40 hours after the killing of its student Abrar Fahad. 

He also lent his moral support to the eight-point demand of the students, including the arrest of all the accused in Abrar Fahad murder case and their capital punishment.

Defending his absence on the campus, Saiful Islam said he had been busy contacting ministers and higher authorities to ensure that students’ demands are met. “Everything is not under my control,” he said.

The protesting students, however, demanded that the VC must assure them in written to meet their demands.

They also announced to boycott classes until their demands are met.

Earlier in the afternoon, the Buet VC held a meeting with the provosts of all the halls.

In the morning, the angry students threatened that they would announce a fresh programme if the VC did not appear on the campus by 5pm.

However, he came to the campus around 5:40pm.

Tension on the Buet campus escalated as its students came out of different residential halls and gathered in front of the university’s central cafeteria around 10 am to press home their eight-point demand.

The demands also include expulsion of all the identified killers from the university for life within 72 hours, trial of the case under a tribunal, expulsion of the raggers who mentally and physically torture students for differences of opinions.

Besides, withdrawal of Sher-e-Bangla Hall provost Muhammad Zafar Iqbal Khan before 5pm for his ignorance about the incident of driving out some students from the hall using political clout, bearing all the expenses of Abrar murder case by the Buet administration and compensation for Abrar’s family and banning party politics on the campus are among the demands.

Abrar, 21, a student Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), was found dead on the staircase of Sher-e-Bangla Hall of the university early Monday.

Some BCL leaders beat him at room-2011 of the dormitory on Sunday night suspecting his link to Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir.