In an incident that has sparked deep concern and raised serious questions regarding overall student security on campus, a gold earring was snatched from a female student’s ear aboard a moving shuttle at Dhaka University (DU).
The mugging took place on Tuesday (September 29) between 7:22 PM and 7:26 PM in front of the gate adjacent to the Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall playground. The victim, Sanjida Akhtar, a student from the 2021–22 session residing at Shamsun Nahar Hall, was traveling toward the main campus from the Mukti o Gonotantrik Toron gate inside a shuttle.
CCTV footage from the scene shows an unidentified man wearing a white shirt pulling up alongside the moving shuttle on a motorcycle, yanking the gold earring from Sanjida’s ear in an instant, and rapidly fleeing toward the Vice-Chancellor’s Lounge area.
Recounting the ordeal, a traumatized Sanjida Akhtar said: “As the shuttle was passing by the Haji Muhammad Muhsin Hall field gate, a man in a white shirt suddenly pulled up on a bike and snatched a gold earring right out of my ear. He then sped off toward VC Chottor. My earlobe was nearly torn off. If we aren’t safe inside a moving shuttle on campus, where are we safe?”
Following the incident, university authorities were informed, and University Proctor Israfil Ratan confirmed that CCTV footage from various key points across the campus is being reviewed to swiftly identify the suspect.
Proctor Israfil Ratan stated: “I have not spoken to the victim directly yet, but we have asked her to submit a formal written complaint. Additionally, we are analyzing the CCTV footage to identify the culprit. To bolster campus security, a decision has been approved by the Vice-Chancellor to install AI-enabled surveillance cameras.”
Occurring even as the process to introduce AI-driven monitoring remains underway, this daring mugging aboard a moving shuttle inside the grounds has sparked intense discontent and fear among students regarding the effectiveness of security personnel and surveillance along internal university roads and residential hall areas.
As of Wednesday, neither the police nor university authorities have managed to detain or arrest the motorcyclist involved in the incident; however, active efforts continue to identify the perpetrator through CCTV footage analysis.
