Rajshahi, 17 May (V7N) - Conflicting allegations have emerged following an incident involving a female student in the chamber of a Finance Department teacher at Rajshahi University. Four individuals, including a student coordinator and two journalists, have been accused of extortion related to the detention of the female student in the teacher's chamber.

The female student made these accusations during a press conference held at the university's Paribahan Market on Saturday and in a written complaint submitted to the city's Motihar Police Station on Friday. Conversely, the two accused journalists refuted these allegations by holding a counter-press conference at the same location yesterday afternoon.

The complainant is a student of the university's Finance Department from the 2018-19 academic session. The accused individuals are identified as Nazmus Shakib, a 2017-18 student of the Law Department; Ataullah, former coordinator of the Rajshahi University's anti-discrimination student movement; Sirajul Islam Sumon, a representative of the university's newspaper; and Sajjad Hossain Sajeeb, a representative of Kalbela, a newspaper.

According to university sources, the accused allegedly apprehended the female student on the evening of May 11th in the chamber of Associate Professor Hedayet Ullah of the Finance Department, located in the university's Rabindranath Tagore Academic Building, on suspicion of an "immoral relationship." A brief 7-second video clip of the incident circulated widely on social media platform Facebook starting May 14th. Condemning the incident, students of the Finance Department organized a human chain and demanded punishment for both the teacher and the student involved.

The Finance Department's academic committee convened on Friday afternoon and decided to suspend both the associate professor and the female student from academic activities pending an investigation. Later that afternoon, the female student filed a general diary with the Motihar police station, alleging harassment and extortion of three lakh taka. Subsequently, both the female student and the accused journalists held separate press conferences yesterday to present their respective accounts.

During her press conference, the female student stated, "I went to Sir's room on the afternoon of the 11th to study for a tutorial exam. Shortly after entering Sir's room, four of them entered, touched me inappropriately, and my veil fell off. I was embarrassed and hid behind the table. They continued to threaten me with various things, including death and rape."

Alleging extortion, she further claimed, "When they threatened Sir in my presence, Sir asked them to sit down so they could discuss. They then demanded 5 lakh taka to conceal the incident. When Sir expressed his inability to pay such a large sum immediately, they persisted with their threats. At one point that night, Sir withdrew 1 lakh taka from an ATM and gave them 2,500 taka from his wallet. The following day, Suman and Shakib returned and took another 2 lakh taka."

She also alleged that they were supposed to receive an additional 2 lakh taka on May 18th. Demanding punishment for those involved, she added, "Despite taking so much money, my video has been distorted and spread on social media. Due to all these incidents, I even attempted suicide once. However, after recovering, I filed a complaint with the police station to seek legal recourse. I want justice for everyone involved in this incident."

In their counter-press conference, the two accused journalists denied the allegations of extortion and presented their version of events. In a written statement, Kalbela journalist Sajjad Hossain said, "On the evening of May 11th, we received information from a source that Hedayet Ullah Sir was in his chamber with a student."

"We went there with the permission of the proctor sir and found the lights in the room turned off. Later, when we knocked, the sir himself opened the door after a while. While we were talking to the sir inside, we saw the female student hiding under the table," Sajjad Hossain further stated. "Later, the sir himself brought the student out. At that time, the student threatened to 'commit suicide' if the news was published."

He continued, "We immediately called the proctor sir to inform him of the matter. However, at the request of Hedayet Ullah sir, we did not provide the proctor sir with detailed information. Considering the safety of the students, no video or news was published regarding this incident. Subsequently, we informed the vice-chancellor sir about the matter, and he asked us to submit a written complaint."

Denying the extortion allegations, he asserted, "The video of the incident has already been circulated on social media through an unknown source. We then noticed that false allegations, including claims of financial transactions, have been made against us by the said teacher and student."

"I want to clearly state that we had no financial dealings whatsoever with that teacher or student. Our sole intention was to properly protest an unethical incident and inform the university administration," Sajjad Hossain concluded.

When questioned about the incident, Finance Department teacher Hedayet Ullah said, "I have been hearing rumors for the past few days that a teacher is conspiring against me. However, due to academic commitments, I could not investigate. On that day, when that student came to my chamber for studies, suddenly four individuals entered and attempted to frame me."

He further alleged, "At one point, they demanded a ransom of 5 lakh taka to keep the incident quiet. They have already extorted 3 lakh taka from me. They are trying to ruin my future and that of the female student."

Asked about being informed of the incident, the university's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Saleh Hasan Naqib, stated, "Two students came to me with a teacher. However, I cannot confirm if they were journalists. The initial complaint they provided was incomplete, so I asked them to submit a written complaint. An investigation committee has been formed within the department to look into the overall issue. That committee and the police administration will investigate the incident."

END/RAR/RH/