Dhaka: Dhaka University observed the 'Black Day' on Tuesday marking the attack unleashed on its teachers and students during the caretaker government in 2007.

The DU teachers and students wore black badges and held various programmes, including a discussion and a human chain, on the occasion.

The discussion meeting was held at the TSC auditorium in the morning with DU vice-chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique in the chair, reports UNB.

In his speech, the DU VC demanded exemplary punishment of those involved in the attack. ‘If those involved are put on trial, nobody will dare reoccur such incident in future,’ he said.

DU pro-VC (Academic) Nasreen Ahmad, pro-VC (administration) M Akhtaruzzaman, treasurer Kamal Uddin, Dhaka University Teachers Association (DUTA) president Farid Uddin Ahmad and its secretary general ASM Maksud Kamal were, among others, present.

On 20 August 2007, army personnel beat three DU students and insulted a teacher at the DU gymnasium playground during a football match. The incident sparked clashes between police and students, spreading from DU to all other educational institutions in the country.

Two DU teachers, Anwar Hossain and Harun-or-Rashid, were also arrested on 23 August 2007.

Later, then DUTA president Sadrul Amin, another teacher Neem Chandra Bhowmick and a number of students were also arrested following the incident.

The unrest led to the arrest of several DU and RU teachers and students on charges of breaking the Emergency Power Rules.