Siddiuqur Rahman, a third-year student of political science at Titumir college, left for Chennai, India, yesterday for treatment of his eyes at Shankara Nethralaya, a renowned eye hospital in south India.

He sustained serious injuries in his eyes after allegedly being hit by a teargas shell fired by police on July 20 during a student demonstration. Students of seven colleges under Dhaka University held a rally on that day at Shahbagh, demanding an early exam schedule, when police allegedly charged batons and fired tear gas shells to disperse them.

Police, however, denied the allegations and said they were probing the incident to find out whether the student

was hurt by the tear gas shell or by something else.

Meanwhile, students staged a march and demanded immediate punishment of the policemen responsible for Siddiqur’s injuries. They, along with Siddiqur’s mother, a farm worker, demanded that the government should arrange better treatment to restore Siddiqur’s vision.

Health minister Mohammad Nasim visited the National Institute of Opthalmology on Thursday where Siddiqur underwent an operation in his eyes. The surgeons said the operation might restore Siddiqur’s vision of his

left eye. But they were not optimistic about the condition of his right eye.

Later, the government decided that the student would be sent to Shankara Nethralaya in Chennai for better treatment. The government would bear all expenses of Siddiqur's treatment, a health ministry announcement said. Siddiqur was flown to Chennai yesterday afternoon with a doctor. The student's elder brother, Nayeb Ali, and some of his friends are also with him.