Students of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) staged protests on the campus on Wednesday, demanding the identification and punishment of the person accused of making an alleged indecent proposal to a female student after obtaining her phone number through a Facebook page.
The protesters formed a human chain in front of the university's Central Library around 12:45pm before bringing out a procession across the campus.
Earlier on Tuesday night, the victim, a student of the Department of Public Administration, filed a General Diary (GD) with Jalalabad Police Station over the incident.
According to the GD, the student responded to a tuition-related post on a Facebook page named “SUST Update” by expressing her interest in the comment section. After the page administrators requested her phone number, she shared her personal mobile number.
The student alleged that on June 24, she received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number offering her a job. She claimed that after she replied, the sender made offensive and indecent remarks and proposed an inappropriate relationship.
She further alleged that when she rejected the proposal, the sender threatened her.
During the protest, students alleged that if the administrators of the “SUST Update” Facebook page are unable to protect users' personal information, they should be held accountable for collecting it.
They demanded that the authorities identify the owner of the phone number used to send the alleged messages and take legal action against the person.
The protesters also called for accountability from the Facebook page administrators regarding the handling of users' personal information.