Dhaka-Rajshahi highway was blocked for nearly three hours yesterday by several hundred students of Rajshahi University (RU).

The students took to the streets demanding arrest and exemplary punishment to the perpetrators who had allegedly beaten up a professor of the university on Wednesday night when he was visiting a relative at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH).

The agitating students took position on the highway around 11:00am and withdrew their programme around 1:50pm after Prof Anand Kumar Saha, pro-vice chancellor of RU, assured them of taking necessary steps against the attackers, a section of intern doctors at RMCH.

Sources at RU and RMCH said on Wednesday night, ATM Enamul Zahir, an associate professor of law department at RU, was visiting a relative who was admitted at RMCH in Ward 30. Around 11:00pm, he unintentionally bumped into a female medical intern, Merry Priyanka.

An altercation ensued between the two and Merry called up her fellow interns who assaulted the professor on the spot. Several nurses soon came to his rescue. To save him from further assault, they put him in a room and padlocked it from the outside.

In a short while, another angry mob of interns broke the door open and attacked the professor once again. They also forbade other doctors to give the injured man any medical treatment, said the sources.  

On information, a team of law enforcers from Rajpara Police Station later rescued Prof Enamul from the hospital. 

Merry told journalists that the professor made an offensive remark after she asked him to be more watchful while walking. Some of her fellow interns have beaten up the professor as he had hurled abuse at her, she also claimed.

While speaking with journalists, Prof Enamul however denied the allegation made by Merry.

Around 10:30am yesterday, the RU students started agitating at the news of the assault on the professor. Half an hour later, they went to the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway near the main entrance of the university in a procession and staged a sit-in there until 1:50pm. 

They started agitating again and locked the administrative building to press home their demand of arrest and punishment to the assaulters. 

They, however, withdrew their agitation later when several RU teachers gave them assurance that they would take necessary steps to bring the attackers to book, said witnesses.

Professor Abdul Hannan, chairman of RU law department, said the department has requested the RU authorities and police to ensure that legal actions are taken against the attackers of the RU professor.

Kudrat-E-Khuda, chief metropolitan magistrate of Rajshahi, has asked the Rajpara police to investigate the incident and submit a report in 24 hours, said RU Assistant Proctor Shibly Islam.

No case was filed in this connection yet.