A section of pro-Awami League (AL) teachers yesterday demanded immediate dismissal of Dhaka University Proctor Prof. Golam Rabbani and two others for allegedly assaulting a colleague in a general meeting of the Blue Panel.

The demand was made by a faction of Blue Panel teachers at a human chain programme held on the premises of Aparajeo Bangla.

The alleged victim, Prof. AKM Jamal Uddin, a teacher of sociology, claimed that he had been attacked by the DU proctor along with the head of the pharmacy department, Prof. Sitesh Chandra Bachar, and a teacher of the applied chemistry and chemical engineering department, Shah Mohammad Masum, at TSC Cafeteria on Thursday.

Prof. Jamal demanded that Dhaka University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) should expel the alleged assaulters for life time. He mentioned that the DU proctor, who is now a Blue Panel member, was a Jatiyotabadi Chhatra Dal leader in the 1990s. “We'll run our demonstration against the incident step by step,” he added.

Addressing the human chain, Blue Panel convener Prof. Abdul Aziz, who is alo the dean of DU's science faculty, said: “The incident occurred in front of my eyes. I'm ashamed and feel sorry for it.”

“Teachers are the conscience keepers of society, but this incident has lowered the dignity of the profession,” he added.

“The incumbent VC has assured us to take necessary steps against this incident. We have full faith in him,” he noted.

DUTA joint secretary Prof. AJM Shafiul Alom Vhuyan said: “If justice is not delivered in the incident, it'll set a bad precedent. It'll lead to a culture of injustice in DU and encourage others to show off their power.”

In another demonstration on Saturday, speakers said the nation could not expect anything from a class of “immoral teachers” who engaged in scuffles, leaked question papers, and introduced communalism in textbooks. The comments were made at a human chain titled “Protect educational system from destruction” held in front of the national museum at Shahbagh in Dhaka.