Staff Correspondent

The Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party (VDP) issued a formal clarification on Monday  stating that its personnel had no involvement in the assault on a Rajshahi University student at Rajshahi Railway Station, contradicting a report published by Prothom Alo.

Addressing the published news report titled "Allegation of student assault against Ansar members, protesting students block railway lines, perform vandalism," the disciplined force clarified that the information attributing the assault to Ansar personnel is inaccurate and inconsistent with the actual incident.

According to the official statement, an unwanted altercation took place between a Rajshahi University student and members of the Railway Nirapatta Bahini (RNB) at Rajshahi Railway Station at approximately 11:00 PM on Sunday. Following the incident, aggrieved students gathered to protest and demonstrate. Due to similarities between the night-time uniforms of RNB personnel and Ansar members, protesting students mistakenly identified the RNB personnel as Ansar members during initial slogans.

The statement noted that students subsequently realized the individuals involved belonged to the RNB. An official office order issued by railway authorities confirmed that four RNB personnel have been temporarily suspended in connection with the incident, establishing that no Ansar members were implicated. 

Bangladesh Ansar and VDP requested news organizations to verify facts before publication and called for necessary corrections to prevent misleading information from affecting the force's reputation.