The protesting students for quota system reform in government jobs on Saturday gave a 24-hour ultimatum for withdrawal of the police case against them and demanded actions against all those allegedly involved in attacks on protesters in the capital and some other places.
The protesters will hold a 鈥榤ass foot march鈥� towards Bangabhaban at 11:00am today to hand over a memorandum to the president to press for their demands for withdrawing the case within 24 hours and reforming the quota system enacting a law in the parliament through calling an emergency session.
They also asked protesters in all educational institutions to place the same memorandum to the president through the deputy commissioners of all 64 districts on Sunday, said Hasnat Abdullah, a co-coordinator of the Students Movement Against Discrimination, a platform for quota reform, at a press conference on the Dhaka University campus.聽聽
Announcing the ultimatum, Nahid Islam, another coordinator of the platform, said that they would not return to classes and sit for exams until their demands were realised.聽
鈥榃e are giving a 24-hour ultimatum to withdraw the case. We urge the government to bring to justice those members of the police force and ruling party student organisation who attacked students during the Thursday鈥檚 protests in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country,鈥� said Nahid, adding that spreading fear among the students would not bear any fruit.
Condemning the government for creating an environment of suppression for the student movement through the police force and ruling party鈥檚 student organisation, Nahid drew the attention of the civil society and international human rights bodies, saying that the government planned to quell the agitation.
The government did not have the right to violate the human and democratic rights of students, he asserted.
On Thursday, thousands of students blocked the Shahbagh crossing in the capital, breaking police barricades, while alleging that the police along with ruling Awami League鈥檚 student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League attacked and intimidated them.
The police filed a case against 鈥榰nidentified students鈥� of anti-quota protests on the charges of assaulting on-duty police members and vandalising their vehicles during their Thursday鈥檚 Shahbagh blockade.
Razarbagh police Lines transport driver Khalilur Rahman filed the case with the Shahbagh police on Friday after consulting his higher authorities, according to the case statement.
Confirming the matter, Shahbagh police inspector (operations) Md Ershad Hossain said, 鈥楾he case was filed on Friday night for the damage done to the police vehicles.鈥�
He said that none was arrested in this connection.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
According to the case statement, the protesters reached Shahbagh crossing at about 4:40pm and they beat police members indiscriminately inflicting minor injuries after breaking the police barricade.
The statement also said that it caused damages worth Tk 5 lakh to police armoured vehicle (APC-25) and water-cannon.
The case referred to ten penal codes, including creating possibility of riot, obstructing government duty, wilful hitting, attacking on-duty members, causing damage, and spreading fear.
At the press conference, a co-coordinator of the movement Asif Mahmud played a record of a police official of Ramna Zone saying 鈥榮tudents did not cause any damage to police vehicle鈥�.
鈥楾hey are spreading rumours against the students by filing the case with false and fabricated allegations,鈥� Asif said.
At a press conference on Saturday, meanwhile, held at the Awami League president Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 political office in Dhanmondi, party general secretary Obaidul Quader said that the demands and statements of the quota protesters were contradictory to the constitution and fundamental principles of the state.
鈥楾he law regarding the quota system will proceed at its own pace,鈥� said Quader, also the road, transport and bridges minister.
Thousands of students in Dhaka and other places across the country have been continuing their protests for quota system reform for the past 13 days since July 1.
Their one-point demand is to limit quotas in the civil service to 5 per cent which should be kept for ethnic minority communities, children of freedom fighters and persons with physical disabilities.
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 1 per cent for physically challenged people鈥攊n the public service from Grade 9 to 13, following student protests.