Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia on Monday permanently expelled  five students --a former leader and four former activists of the ruling Awami League-backed student body Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) for torturing a first-year student of finance and banking department.

The expelled students are then BCL university unit vice-president Shanjida Chowdhury Ontora of statistics department and her associates Tabassum Islam and Maobiya Jahan, of finance and banking department, Halima Khatun Urmi of fine arts department and Israt Jahan Mim of law department.

Earlier on July 16, the university administration expelled the five students from the university for one year as per the university law, but the High Court on July 26 scrapped the expulsion order as the punishment was not handed down in accordance with the university’s code of conduct.

The court also asked the vice-chancellor of the university to re-fix the punishment following the university’s Student Code of Conduct 1987.

The decision of the meeting would be sent to the High Court by August 23.

The victim female student said, “I am satisfied with the university administration’s decision against Ontora and four of her associates.”

None will dare to do such a heinous act on the campus in the future, she added.

The victim was tortured and intimidated by the then IU unit BCL vice-president Shanjida Chowdhury Ontora and her associates, including Tabassum, Mim, Urmi and Maobiya, in Deshratna Sheikh Hasina Hall on the campus at night on February 12.

Ontora, at one stage, forced the victim to get undressed and videoed the incident on the mobile phone.

Ontora also threatened that she would make the video viral on social media if the victim disclosed the matter to anyone, according to the complaint the victim filed with the university administration, including the university proctor, student adviser and hall provost, on February 14.

Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul