In Khulna, bank officer Abdul Mannan, also a freedom fighter, was severely injured in the attack on Wednesday. The cadres demanded Tk 5000 from him on the occasion of Siratunnabi Mahfil to be held in the city today with Maulana Delwar Hossain Saidee MP as chief guest.

Shibir cadres Moshtaque Ahmed, 24, and Sarwar Hossain, 25, attacked Mannan while he was going to his bank at Shamsur Rahman Road from the Agrani Bank Colony at Gallamari at around 9:00am.

As the two cadres tried to flee, other residents of the colony caught hold of them. A mob also beat up the two.

Later, the Shibir cadres made apologies to the banker and left the place.

Although police was informed of the incident, they did not turn up at the scene.

Shibir cadre Moshtaque is a student of Khulna University while Sarwar studies in Daulatpur Govt. BL College.

Our RU Correspondent adds: Islamic Chhatra Shibir (ICS) cadres beat two students of Rajshahi University (RU) Suhrawardy Hall on Tuesday night for refusing to pay toll.

The students are Shahinur Islam Jewel, a 3rd year student of Bangla department, and Russell, a 3rd year student of political science department.

A resident student said Shibir cadres Helal and Iqbal came to Room No. # 314 and demanded Tk 100 and handed over a receipt to Jewel, saying that they are collecting money for a three-day grand rally of Shibir workers to be held on December 30.

As Jewel refused to pay toll, they were locked in an altercation with him. The cadres then took Jewel to their hall unit secretary's room and beat him with broken chairs. Russell tried to resist them but he was also beaten up.

There are allegations that the Shibir activists have been collecting toll from university halls, nearby business centres, restaurants and shops for their rally.

They also went to the teachers' lounge and the administrative officers' room to collect toll. They have set up several camps on the campus to collect toll from the students.

Many students and student organisations have protested the move and informed the proctor of it. But the university authorities did not take any step in this regard.

When contacted, RU Shibir General Secretary Rokon Uddin denied the allegations, saying that all are willing to pay something for the rally.