Noakhali Night Unrest: Female Students Protest Over Male Entry and Drug Bust at NSTU

Students of the Hazrat Bibi Khadija Hall at Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU) staged a protest late Monday night, expressing outrage over allegations that male staff entered their rooms during a search operation without prior permission. The protest, which began around 11:30 PM on July 1 and continued until 2:00 AM, has led to a tense atmosphere across the campus.

In a separate but related incident, two students from the Abdul Malek Ukil Hall were expelled after marijuana was recovered from their room during a routine search.

According to sources, the protest by female students erupted following an evening raid by hall authorities aimed at recovering illegal electronic cooking appliances. During the raid, several male staff members allegedly entered the rooms of female students without notice, triggering shock and distress among the residents.

One student shared, “We didn’t even understand what was happening. Suddenly, some male staff entered our floor. We didn’t even get the chance to cover ourselves with scarves. It was extremely embarrassing and frightening.”

In response to the incident, Hall Provost Abdul Kaiyum Masud stated, “From the afternoon to the evening, the hall administration was preparing a list of vacant seats and confiscating illegal electric cooking items. Those involved with the administration remained in the hall until around 8:30 PM, and no complaints had been made by any student until that time. Later in the night, some students started protesting with various demands. Male staff are not allowed to enter rooms in the female dormitory. If anyone did so, proper action will be taken against them.”

Earlier that evening, around 7:00 PM, a separate search was conducted at Room 209 of Abdul Malek Ukil Hall, where two polythene bags containing marijuana were recovered. The raid was prompted by a complaint related to seat allocation and was led by Provost Associate Professor Dr. Md. Taslim Mahmud and assistant provosts.

Upon interrogation at the hall office, the two students admitted to possessing the confiscated drugs. They were identified as Tanvir Sarker and Usaing C, both from the 2018–19 session of the Department of Management Information Systems (MIS). After obtaining written confessions, the university administration expelled both students.

The combination of these incidents has led to mounting unrest and heightened concern across the NSTU campus.