DU forms probe committee over ‘indecent Facebook post’, issues show-cause notice to accused student

The University of Dhaka administration has formed a three-member committee to investigate a campus situation triggered by allegations that a student of Salimullah Muslim Hall made an obscene post on Facebook.

In a statement, the university said the committee has been asked to submit its report within 48 hours, while the accused student has been served a show-cause notice and instructed to provide a written explanation within 24 hours.

The decision was made at an emergency meeting of the provosts’ standing committee last night (23 April).

The committee has been formed with Dr Md Anwar Hossain, house tutor for Salimullah Muslim Hall, as convener and Jawad Ibne Farid, another house tutor of the hall, as member secretary. The other member is Dr Mosaddek Khan, ICT expert and assistant proctor.

Amid the situation, the administration has urged all concerned to remain calm and exercise restraint. It also requested students to refrain from wall writing and graffiti to maintain discipline and the academic environment.

The administration said the issue will be resolved through due process and urged everyone not to take the law into their own hands, stressing the importance of mutual respect and tolerance.

Separately, a three-member committee has been formed to investigate an incident involving attacks on students at Shahbagh Police Station. The committee is headed by Assistant Proctor Professor Dr Shantu Barua and has been asked to submit its report within three working days.

The situation escalated following a clash between activists of Jatioatabadi Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir at the police station last night.

According to eyewitnesses, the clash began when Abdullah Al Mahmud, a Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu) candidate backed by Shibir, went to file a general diary over a “fake screenshot” circulating on social media.

Chhatra Dal leaders alleged that the student had posted an indecent AI-generated image involving Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and his daughter Zaima Rahman.

However, fact-checking organisation Rumor Scanner said the screenshot was “edited”.

In its verified Facebook page, the fact-checking organisation also revealed that the photo card was originally posted by a Facebook user named Eshan Chowdhury.