At least 6 people were killed in violent clashes in Bangladesh. All primary schools and universities closed for indefinite period
Monitoring Desk
Dhaka
All government primary schools under eight city corporation areas of the country have been declared closed for an indefinite period considering the students’ safety, said the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education on Wednesday morning.
According to a press release, signed by Mahbubur Rahman Tuhin, senior information officer of the ministry, academic activities at all government primary schools and other primary schools and learning centers run by Shishu Kallyan Trust and Bureau of Non-Formal Education will remain suspended until further notice.
Earlier on Tuesday night, The University Grants Commission (UGC) announced a closure of all public and private universities until further notice considering the issue of students’ safety against the background of the quota reform movement.
Violent Protests
At least six people were killed and dozens injured in clashes among students, Bangladesh Chhatra League, and police on Tuesday during the quota reform movement in the country.
Protests flared up as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in the capital and elsewhere, demanding reformation in the quota system in government jobs.
They blocked highways and busy thoroughfares, and put up barricades on railway lines, protesting against attacks carried out on them by Chhatra League men on Monday, and demanding the withdrawal of the prime minister’s remarks what they said belittled them.
Meanwhile, the government has deployed members of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in Dhaka, Gazipur, Chattogram, Bogura, Rangpur, and Rajshahi to maintain law and order amid the deteriorating situation in the country.
In Chattogram, three people, including a student, were killed during a clash between Chhatra League men and quota protesters in the city’s Muradpur area this afternoon.
Two of the deceased were Md Wasim Akram, a third-year student at the Department of Sociology of Chittagong College, and Md Faruk, an employee of a furniture shop.
Chattogram Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner Ashraful Alam confirmed the news of fatalities.
As part of the nationwide quota reform movement, students from International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC) blocked the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway, halting the movement of vehicles and causing a 60km tailback, reports UNB.
They also blocked the railway line in Sitakunda.
In Dhaka, a young man was killed in a clash between Chhatra League activists and demonstrators in front of Dhaka College.
The deceased was identified only as Mohammad Faruk, 25.
Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) police outpost in-charge Inspector Bachchu Mia said the young man was brought to the hospital in a critical condition and the on-duty physician declared him dead.
He bore sharp weapon injuries below his ear and on various parts of his face, the inspector added.
Another youth who was injured in Dhaka’s Science Lab area died Tuesday evening. The exact cause of his death remains unconfirmed, reports UNB.
Sources at DMCH reported that the youth, who was wearing black jeans and a navy blue T-shirt, was brought to the hospital by ambulance around 7pm. The on-duty doctor declared him dead upon arrival.
Confirming the news of death, Inspector Bachchu Mia said the youth’s head was wrapped with bandages.
Shakil, the ambulance driver’s assistant. Said they brought him from Popular Medical College Hospital in Dhanmondi. Initially, the youth was rushed to Popular Medical College Hospital with severe head injuries before being transferred to DMCH.
When asked whether the youth’s injuries were related to the clashes between quota protesters and Chhatra League in the Science Lab area earlier this afternoon, Shakil said he was unsure about the circumstances of the injury.
Students and Chhatra League activists faced off in different parts of the capital with intermittent clashes, turning those areas into battlefields.
Four demonstrators sustained bullet wounds during a clash in the Chankharpul area. They were taken to DMCH, our correspondent reports.
Besides, three students of Jagannath University (JnU) and one student Kabi Nazrul Government College received bullet injuries during demonstrations near the campus.
According to the witnesses, students brought out a procession from JnU around 3:30pm. When they were marching towards Ray Saheb Bazar, gunshots were fired from an alley, leaving them wounded.
Demonstrators from different public and private universities blocked busy roads and intersections, halting traffic movement and causing immense suffering to people.
Quota protesters also put up a barricade on the level crossing at Mohakhali, disrupting Dhaka’s rail communications with other parts of the country.
In Rangpur, a student of Begum Rokeya University (BRU) was killed during a clash between the police and the demonstrators at the university entrance this noon.
Abu Sayeed, 25, a student of the English department, was brought dead at Rangpur Medical College Hospital around 3:05pm.
Sayeed, also one of the organizers of the quota reform movement, was injured as the police fired rubber bullets to resist a group of protesters entering the BRU campus around 2pm, according to the eyewitnesses.
The clash erupted as students from different educational institutions marched towards the campus from the Lalbagh area and tried to enter the campus through Gate No-1.
Initially, the law enforcers baton-charged and fired tear gas to disperse the protesters, while the latter threw brickbats at the police.
As clashes turned severe, they fired rubber bullets at the demonstrators, leaving at least 50 people injured.
“Rubber bullets were fired to bring the situation under control,” Abu Bakar Siddique, additional commissioner of police, told the Daily Sun.
In Rajshahi, Students of Barendra University blocked the Rajshahi-Dhaka Highway on Tuesday, demanding reform in the quota system, reports UNB.
They took position on the highway in front of the main gate of the university at noon, halting traffic movement on both sides.
Students’ protests across the country
Students in different districts across the country took to the streets on Tuesday to protest recent attacks on students from various universities while they were demonstrating for quota reform.
In Khulna, students from BL College, Haji Muhammad Mohsin College, and other colleges held a protest march and blocked the road at 10:30 am at the Notun Rasta intersection, causing a traffic gridlock. At 11:30 am, students from Khulna University and other educational institutions blocked the road at Shibbari Chottor in Khulna.
In Cox’s Bazar, students of Government Polytechnic Institution started a demonstration in the morning, where Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists attacked the rally. At one point, BCL members and demonstrators began throwing bricks at each other. Later, the agitating students blocked the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar highway.
In Bogura, students started a demonstration on the Government Azizul Haque College campus in the morning. Several students were injured when a group of BCL members attacked the demonstrators. The injured were admitted to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital.
In Rangpur, students of Rangpur Medical College began gathering on campus at 10:00 am. Later, they conducted a procession and marched on the main streets of the campus.
In Jhenaidah, students from various educational institutions started gathering at Uzir Ali School playground in the town. After a while, BCL activists attacked the protesting students. At least eleven students were injured in the incident.
In Barishal, students from various educational institutions have taken to the streets in protest against attacks on those demanding quota system reform. They have blocked different points of the Dhaka-Barishal highway, effectively bringing the city to a standstill.
Read: Communal – A Poem from Bangladesh
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Courtesy: Daily Sun, Dhaka (Posted on July 17, 2024)
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