CUET Buses Attacked on Day 21, Students Confine VC and Cut Power

Entering its 21st consecutive day, the ongoing unrest at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) took a violent turn on Monday, 12 October 2026. Multiple campus buses carrying students were ambushed and vandalized in Chattogram, leaving several students injured and a driver assaulted. In immediate retaliation, agitating students locked newly appointed Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Sheikh Shariful Alam inside his official residence, snapped power lines, and declared him indefinitely confined until his formal resignation.

According to student accounts, the violence unfolded in two coordinated waves. Around 2:30 PM on Monday, a university bus departing from the city center toward the campus was ambushed in the Modunaghat intersection, where local activists attacked the vehicle, injuring one student. Later, at approximately 4:30 PM near Chandgaon adjacent to the Bahaddarhat bus terminal, miscreants attacked student transport again. In total, three institutional buses were vandalized, and one driver was physically assaulted, leaving multiple students injured. Demonstrators alleged that Prof. Shariful Alam entered the campus escorted by political outsiders following the ambushes to preserve his tenure, leading the student body to formally declare that they no longer recognize his executive authority.

Defying an ultimatum issued by the student body ordering him and his administrative associates to vacate the residence by 12:00 PM, the VC remained inside the compound. Protesters subsequently padlocked the main gates and severed the building's electrical connections. In a formal late-night briefing on Monday, student leaders announced that the VC would remain confined inside the residence until their demands are met. The coordinators clarified that they do not endorse human rights violations or violent confrontations; should the VC submit a handwritten resignation directly to the students or publicly declare his resignation before the press, he and his entourage will be guaranteed safe passage off campus. Failing that, he will remain confined until former Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem is officially reinstated.

Earlier on Monday afternoon, present and alumni students convened an extensive human chain demonstration outside the Chittagong Press Club to protest the road ambushes. Holding banners and placards inscribed with slogans such as "CUET Will Not Be an Abode for Sycophants," "No Room for Partisan Politics," and "Go Back," the demonstrators condemned political interference and the mobilization of hired goons against students. From the demonstration, the students formulated a three-point demand: immediate reinstatement of Prof. Dr. Sayem, publication of an official inquiry report into the bus attacks within 24 hours along with criminal prosecution of the perpetrators, and the unconditional resignation and departure of the current Vice-Chancellor.

//DBTech/CGM/SMP/BPO//