The day also saw students of another private university, Darul Ihsan University, demonstrating on its Shyamoli campus and blocking Mirpur Road, protesting the university's closure for over a week now.

On Stamford University Siddheshwary campus, a few hundred students of the pharmacy department brought out a scheduled procession at around 8:00am to press for the fulfilment of a number of demands, witnesses said.

The demands include setting up a laboratory and a library at the pharmacy department, and accreditation of the course by Bangladesh Pharmacy Council, required much to get a pharmacist's job.

"At one stage, the students went unruly and started ransacking computers, a library, a laboratory, and the door- and window-panes of the registrar's office on the ground floors of three campus buildings," said a pharmacy student on condition of anonymity.

By that time, many other students joined the demonstrators and together they marched in a procession towards Maghbazar. But, police intercepted them in front of Ramna Police Station.

At about noon, the demonstrators went to Stamford University Dhanmondi campus in Satmasjid Road. There their fellow students came out of the academic buildings and joined them. They started pelting brickbats at the buildings, breaking a few more door- and window-panes.

The agitating students then blocked Satmasjid Road, halting vehicular traffic on the city thoroughfare from noon until late in the evening.

The vice chancellor of the university, Hannan Firoz, arrived on the Dhanmondi campus with a police escort at about 3:30pm, when the angry students threw even sandals and shoes at him.

As the students burst into violence, the teachers fled the campus fearing attack and the university authorities announced closure of all its campuses for the next three days.

At 5:00pm, a large number of police were seen guarding the campus, while three student representatives were holding a meeting with the VC inside to resolve the conflicts.

Dissatisfactions and resentments have been brewing for long among the Stamford University students, as the administration started charging them exorbitant admission, tuition, examination, registration, and tuition fees two years ago. In some cases the fees have been doubled, even tripled, over the period, the students said. For instance, they mentioned that the re-admission fee has been increased from earlier Tk 2,000 to Tk 5,000 now.

Some 14,000 students are now studying in the university.

"The university has been enrolling students far beyond its faculty and accommodation capacities in short certificate courses like Basic English, for which teachers cannot take make-up classes for us," said Omar Salahuddin, a BBA student of 30-F batch.

A female English student seeking anonymity said they have almost no books in the library, though the authorities charge them library fee. She also alleged, as they are not allowed to bring snacks from outside, they have to buy a singara for as much as Tk 8 from the university canteen.

Mashiur Rahman, a member of Stamford University Board of Trustees and younger brother to VC Hannan Firoz, said the students placed a six-point set of demands to Hannan, which he has agreed to meet in phases.

Mashiur, who spoke on behalf of the VC, said the demands include accreditation of the pharmacy courses by Bangladesh Pharmacy Council and reducing fees, which he admitted to be a bit high.

AGITATION IN DARUL IHSAN UNIVERSITY
Angry at the unscheduled closure of Darul Ihsan University (DIU), about 100 students yesterday went to the campus and broke into the academic building, police and witnesses said.

They staged demonstration on the campus, then went to nearby Mirpur Road and blocked it for some two and a-half hours from 11:00am.

"The landlord of the university building has kept the gates and doors of the university under lock and key since May 8, as the authorities failed to pay up the rent," said Sub Inspector Giasuddin of Mohammadpur Police Station.

The students were also agitating, as the academic activities of the university have been limping for a long time now due to factional feud among the trustee board members, other sources said.

Police were guarding the campus to check any further untoward incidents.