CUET Vice-Chancellor rescued after 30-hour student standoff

Professor Sheikh Shariful Alam, the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), was rescued from a 30-hour standoff at the university administrative building on Tuesday evening. Local administration officials, including District Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mia and Police Superintendent Md. Masud Alam, facilitated his exit under police escort via ambulance.

The standoff began after Professor Alam attempted to enter the campus to assume his duties. Students, protesting the removal of former Vice-Chancellor Professor Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem and demanding his reinstatement, barricaded the administrative building, cut off electricity and water supplies, and locked the Vice-Chancellor inside his office.

Upon his release, students reportedly issued a condition that the Vice-Chancellor must not return to the CUET campus. Following his rescue, Professor Alam was taken to Evercare Hospital in Chittagong, where medical professionals confirmed his health is stable.