Rival BCL groups clash at JU, 10 hurt , 5 arrested................

A faction of Bangladesh Chhatra League based in Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall of Jahangirnagar University swooped on the activists of another BCL group early Friday to establish their authority there.

Activists of 'Palash-Zihan group' wielding machetes, hockey sticks and other lethal weapons attacked 'Preetam-Sabbir group' adherents at around 4:30am in the hall.

The clash left at least 10 persons injured and some eight dormitory rooms vandalised.

Savar police in a raid on the hall detained five persons in the afternoon suspecting their involvement in the clash.

The detained were identified as history department students Tofa and Tarif (36th batch), Saher from government and politics (34th batch), Sajib from statistics (34th batch) and Shaon from geography and environment (36th batch).

Savar police chief Khandaker Shafiqul Islam told us that they conducted a two-hour raid on Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall.

The uniiversity authorities and the police will discuss the issue of the detainees, Islam said.

The Preetam-Sabbir group had attacked the Palash-Zihan group activists on Mar 10, injuring at least 15 and chasing them out of the hall.

After recurrent clashes over control in the residential halls, the BCL's university committee was dissolved on Feb 17.

"Police reinforcements have been posted on the campus to guard against any more unpleasant incidents," acting proctor professor Arzu Miah told reporters Friday.

The culprits will be punished after a proper investigation into the matter, Miah added.

"No BCL leader was involved in the incident. It was only juniors settling their personal scores," Mahmud Naser Johnnie, general secretary of the dissolved committee, told us.