Students protesting against the reinstatement of quotas in public services and demanding reform in the system faced attacks and intimidation by the police and the ruling Awami League鈥檚 student wing, the Bangladesh Chhatra League, in Dhaka and other parts of the country on Thursday, the 11th day of聽their agitation programme.
At least 30 protesters, including 20 at Comilla University and 10 at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in Dhaka, were injured in separate clashes, while a reporter and a cameraman of a private channel were wounded in an attack by protesters at Dhaka鈥檚 Shahbagh crossing.
Some 500 students from Comilla University tried to take positions in the Kotbari area as part of their protests around 3:30pm.
A chase and counter-chase took place in the area once police asked them to leave the place, triggering a clash that left 20 people injured, reported United News of Bangladesh. Police fired blank shots and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the students, reported the agency.
Students claimed that police attacked students at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet, Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University in Tangail, and female protesters at Chittagong University.
A student of Rajshahi University on Thursday accused BCL activists of beating him for two hours for participating in the quota reform movement.
The victim, Md Mostafa Mia, a second-year student of the social work department, lodged a written complaint with the university proctor, Professor Asabul Haque, demanding justice and security for his life.
Protesting the police and BCL attack and intimidation across the country, Nahid Islam, one of the coordinators of the Students Movement Against Discrimination, a platform for anti-quota students, announced protest rallies and processions in all educational institutions at聽 4:00pm on Friday.聽
On Thursday, the High Court published the operative part of its June 5 verdict that asked the government to restore a 30 per cent quota for descendants of freedom fighters.聽
In the short verdict, the High Court said that the government could change, reduce, or increase the ratio or percentage of the quota of government jobs.
The protesters welcomed the verdict and asked the government to act.
鈥榃e want to say that the government should resolve the quota problem as soon as possible,鈥� Nahid said.
Nahid said that their movement would continue until the government enacted a law in parliament by calling an emergency session.
To press home their demand, students blocked highways across the country, defying attack and intimidation.
Barisal University students blocked the Dhaka-Barisal highway and Barishal-Kuakata highway, Jahangirnagar University students blocked the Dhaka-Aricha highway; and SUST students blocked the Sylhet-Sunamganj road, among others, according to 抖阴精品 correspondents in districts.聽
In Dhaka, several thousand protestors from Dhaka University and other educational institutions broke the police barricade to block the Shahbagh crossing for several hours since 5:00pm.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police earlier in the day warned students of the consequences if any road was blocked and waited with water cannons and other riot gear but refrained from taking any action in the face of a sea of protesters, many of whom included female students.
Protesters claimed that police charged students at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University with batons, leaving at least 10 injured.
Students said when they were heading towards the Agargaon crossing, bypassing the second gate of the university, police charged them with batons.聽
Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station officer-in-charge, Md Ahad Ali, however, denied the allegations.
At Shahbagh, students criticised police action against protesters in Cumilla.
They chanted slogans, 鈥榃hy our fellows were attacked at Cumilla鈥�, 鈥榃e demand justice鈥�, 鈥榩olice cannot stop movement making threats.鈥�
Abdur Razzak, a third-year student at Dhaka University, said they would continue to protest until their demand was met.
BCL held a rally in front of the Anti-Terrorism Raju Memorial Sculpture when protesters were agitating against quota reinstatement.
Earlier at a press conference, criticising the agitating students, BCL president Saddam Hossain said that the protesters were not considering the suffering of common people.聽
Students brought out a procession from Dhaka College at 4:20pm to join their fellow quota protesters at Shahbagh.
However, they faced a police barricade at the Science Laboratory and, later, at the Nilkhet crossing.
DMP New Market Zone assistant commissioner Refatul Islam said that students had permission to hold demonstrations only in Shahbagh.
Chittagong University students blocked the railway station around 3:00pm before moving to the Tiger Pass crossing around 4:30 pm.
Rajshahi University students blocked the rail tracks at the university railway station, protesting against the police attack on Comilla University students.
The students blocked the rail tracks at 6:15pm and were staging a sit-in with various slogans until evening.
On October 4, 2018, the government issued a circular abolishing all 56 per cent quotas鈥�30 per cent for freedom fighters鈥� descendants, 10 per cent for women, 10 per cent for people from underdeveloped districts, 5 per cent for ethnic communities; and one per cent for physically challenged people鈥攊n the civil service following student protests.