Sarba Mitra Chakma decides to resign from DUCSU

Sarba Mitra Chakma has decided to resign from the executive member post of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union DUCSU.

He announced the decision in a post on the Facebook group Dhaka University Students-2 on Monday, January 26.

In the post, Sarba Mitra also apologised for making students do sit-ups while holding their ears at the Dhaka University central playground and gymnasium.

Sarba Mitra wrote that the playground of the university’s Physical Education Centre is meant exclusively for Dhaka University students. However, unrestricted entry of outsiders over a long period has turned into a serious security concern.

He said that female students have repeatedly faced harassment by outsiders, while incidents such as mobile phone theft, wallet snatching and bicycle theft have also occurred. These incidents, he added, not only threaten students’ personal safety but also undermine the dignity and secure environment of an educational institution.

Sarba Mitra noted that despite students repeatedly informing the university administration about the situation, no effective or visible measures have been taken. The Physical Education Centre has not been brought under CCTV coverage, security has not been strengthened, and no concrete steps have been taken to prevent the entry of outsiders.

He alleged that outsiders regularly enter the campus by climbing over the wall opposite Dhaka Medical College. Despite being warned several times, they continued to ignore restrictions and, on some occasions, threw stones at staff members while fleeing, posing a severe security risk.

Referring to administrative failure, Sarbamittra said that amid ongoing insecurity and lack of cooperation from the authorities, he felt compelled to stop outsiders by forcing them to do sit-ups. He admitted that this was neither desirable nor appropriate and offered an unconditional apology for the incident.

Regarding his resignation, he said he had decided to step down from the DUCSU executive member post as a personal decision, not out of anger or resentment towards anyone. He added that he believes he failed to meet the expectations of the students who had chosen him as their representative and has therefore taken responsibility by resigning.