The High Court has directed the Islamic University authorities to revoke the suspension order against five of its students, including a leader and four activists of the university Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), over torturing and threatening a female student of the Finance and Banking department.

The court also asked the university vice-chancellor to redetermine the punishment of the five.

After hearing on the issue on Wednesday, the HC bench of Justice JBM Hasan and Justice Rajik Al Jalil passed the order.

The IU authorities have been asked to submit the report on August 23.

Earlier on July 19, Adv Gazi Mohammad Muhsin said the punishment of the five students was not appropriate.

On July 15, the university suspended the five for one year.

The suspended students are IU BCL unit vice-president Sanjida Chowdhury Antara of Statistics department and her associates Tabassum Islam and Moabiya Jahan of the Finance and Banking department, Halima Khatun Urmi of the Fine Arts department, and Israt Jahan Mim of the Law department of the university.

Among them, Sanjida was IU vice-president of BCL, while the rests were BCL activists. They were also expelled by the central committee of the BCL from the organisation for their involvement in torture.

On February 12, Fulpori Khatun, the first-year student at Islamic University who was tortured and humiliated by five now-expelled BCL activists, said her tormentors reveled in making her suffer for four and a half hours.

At 11pm on February 12, Sanjida Chowdhury Ontora called Fulpori from Room No. 306 and brought her to the common room, slapped her along with her cohorts, punched her in the head, face, and hit her hard with her hands on her chest.

Fulpori Khatun said, "They tortured me a lot. They also pricked my foot with a pin." At one stage, the tormentors said: "Now see what ragging is!"

Fulpori quoted her assaulters as saying that: "We are worse than boys."