Chhatra Dal-backed candidate says the messages were sent to phone numbers provided by students at several programmes organised by them
Students of Jagannath University (JnU) have accused that their personal information was leaked after unauthorised access to data stored on the university's website.
According to the complaints, mobile phone numbers and other personal details of students were collected without consent and later used to send campaign messages ahead of the Jagannath University Central Students' Union (JnUCSU) election.
Several students reported receiving SMS messages soliciting votes for the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal-backed panel, "Oikoboddho Nirbhik Jobian," despite never sharing their personal contact numbers with any political organisation.
Hafizul Islam, a programmer at the university's ICT Cell, confirmed the incident. "We have become aware of the matter. Initially, it appears that data may have been accessed without authorisation from a section of the website. We are investigating how the information was extracted," he said.
However, Prof Nasir Uddin, director of the university's ICT Cell, denied the possibility of a breach from the central website. "There is no scope for data being hacked from our website. Each department stores the student information separately. The leak may have occurred from there. I will visit the university on Sunday to look into the matter," he said.
This is the second such incident involving students' personal data. In June, a fraud ring allegedly used stolen student information to lure victims with fake scholarship offers and siphoned off money using online banking one-time passwords (OTP).
Sources claimed that on December 29, students across the university received campaign messages from multiple numbers seeking votes in the JnUcsu election. The messages were sent from the numbers 8809612770538, 8809612770537, 8809612770536, and 8809612770535, all urging recipients to vote for the Chhatra Dal-backed panel.
Students said they were shocked and alarmed by the messages. Many claimed they use their personal numbers only for essential purposes and do not even share them widely with classmates.
Atoshe Omi, a student of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, questioned the credibility of the candidates involved. "If they fail to protect students' privacy even before the election, how will they ensure the safety of female students if elected? I do not share my personal number with anyone, so how did they get it?" she said.
Suyayel Ahmed, a student of the Department of Sociology, said, "I provided my number on the university website for admission and academic purposes. Now that same number is being used to ask for votes. It is very concerning and raises serious questions about our personal security."
Al Shahriar, a management student and a candidate for a member post in the JnUcsu election, said, "Using students' personal data this way ahead of an election is clearly unethical. It is creating confusion and undue pressure among voters."
Responding to the allegation, AKM Rakib, VP candidate from the Chhatra Dal and Chhatra Odhikar-backed panel, said, "We collected the information personally. At different times, we organised programmes where students provided their contact details through Google Docs. We used that information to send SMS messages and emails seeking votes."
Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Rezaul Karim described the issue as highly sensitive. "We have received similar complaints before. If it is proven that genuine data was leaked from the university website, we will conduct an investigation and take necessary action," he said.
