| manashalu |
Posted
on 09-Jun-02 04:49 AM
Bangladesh student shoot-out kills one
A female student was killed during a gunfight between two rival groups of students at Bangladesh's top engineering university on Saturday.
Police officials said the girl was hit by a stray bullet after being caught in the crossfire during the gunfight at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in the capital, Dhaka.
Police were unable to say what the students were fighting over but confirmed that it was between two factions of the student wing of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Eyewitnesses said both sides used automatic weapons during the hour-long gun fight, firing dozens of shots.
Hundreds of students and teachers were seen fleeing the campus for safety while several hundred police took position around the university.
Campus control
Students groups in Bangladesh often fight over the control of university campuses.
They consider it crucial for maintaining their supremacy in national-level politics.
Most student groups in Bangladesh work as front organisations for different political parties and maintain their own armed cadres.
In the past there were calls to ban political activities in the campus to check the rising incidence of campus violence.
However political parties have failed to reach a consensus over the issue.
(BBC news service)
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