At least 20 people were killed and hundreds injured following students鈥� protests seeking a reform in quota system in public services as police and ruling party supporters clashed with protesters in places across the country on Thursday.
The victims included an on-duty journalist and nine students while at least six of them were hit by bullets, officials said.
Clashes broke out in many places, especially in the capital Dhaka as students, under the platform of Students Movement Against Discrimination, enforced 鈥榗omplete shutdown,鈥� across the country demanding the quota reform and protesting at police atrocities following days of clashes and skirmishes.
Fifteen people were killed in the capital Dhaka and its surrounding areas while two people killed each in Chattogram and Narsingdi.
A student drowned in Madaripur district being chase by police and the ruling party supporters.
Many government establishments, including Bangladesh Television Bhaban in the capital鈥檚 Rampura, police stations, were vandalised and some were set on fire.聽
Many areas of the capital, such as Rampura, Badda, Uttara, Mirpur, Motijheel, Arambagh, Dhanmondi Malibagh, Azimpur, Palashi and Jatrabari, practically turned into war zone as police fired rubber bullets, sound grenades and tear-shells indiscriminately to disperse the agitators.
Students retaliated with brickbats before the news of one after killings left them go berserk.
Fire Service and Civil Defence received reports of 25 incidents of fires across the country from July 17 to 18 until 7:00pm.
Many of the victims were students of different private universities and colleges, who took the lead in the protests after the authorities declared all public universities closed, forcing the students out of campuses and residential halls on Wednesday.
A XI grader of Dhaka Residential Model College was killed in a clash of protesters with ruling party鈥檚 student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League, youth front Juba League, police.
The deceased is Farhan Faiaz Ratul.聽 The college鈥檚 governing body member Mohammad Nurunnabi said that Farhan was killed in a clash in Dhanmondi-27 sustaining a bullet injury on his chest.
He said that he was taken to City Hospital in the capital, where doctor declared him dead.
Apart from the death of Farhan, at least 60 people were injured in the area, many of whom were taken to the IBN Sina Hospital, said a protester.
At least five protesters were killed in Uttara area, where about 200 injured people took treatment at Uttara Adhunik Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh-Kuwait Friendship Hospital, Uttara Crescent Hospital.
Abdul Aziz, the protest coordinator of Uttara Zone, said over 500 of their fellows were injured as members of police, Rapid Action Battalion fired indiscriminately against them.
Mahfuza Ara Begum, an assistant director of Bangladesh-Kuwait Friendship Hospital, said the bodies of three students and a rickshaw puller in their hospital along 150 injured after the protest.
Uttara Adhunik University Hospital principal Sabbir Ahmed said that a student was brought dead to their hospital while they treated at least 62 injured people until 4:00pm
In Badda and Rampur area, police clashed with private university students, leaving a microbus driver dead and at least 400 injured.
The microbus driver Dulal Matbor was brought taken to private Farazy Hospital Ltd in Rampura around 12:30pm, Rubel Hossain, deputy general manager of the hospital told 抖阴精品.
He said that they treated around 400 people, mostly hit by pellets. The injured included some members聽 of police, who were hit by bricks.
A round mark of wound was found near the chest of his body, he said.
Some police took shelter on the roof of Canadian University being chased by protesters before a RAB helicopter rescued them.
A computer science student of the Military Institute of Science and Technology was brought dead to Enam Medical Hospital in Savar, near Dhaka, the hospital鈥檚 deputy duty manager Yusuf Ali confirmed.
Several thousand students of the different private universities, including Bangladesh University of Professionals, Military Institute of Science and Technology, Bangladesh University of Business and Technology and BSMR Maritime University, Bangladesh and other educational institutions blocked Mirpur-10 and Mirpur-12 intersections and nearby area.
Protesters said that local ruling party men, Juba League and Chhatra League attacked them with the support of police while they demonstrated, disrupting traffic movement.
Protesters set the police box in Mirpur-10 on fire, forcing the operation of metro rail train suspended for few hours.
A student was drowned after jumping into a lake in Madaripur being chased by police and ruling party supporters
The deceased Dipta Dey, 21, is a second year student of Madaripur Government College. Two other students reportedly went missing after the incident.
Fire Service inspector Sheikh Ahaduzzaman of Madaripur, however, said that their divers could only find the body of Dipta.
The protesters vandalised the offices of Madaripur deputy commissioner and superintendent of police, said police super Mohammad Shafiur Rahman.
抖阴精品 Correspondent in Narsingdi reported that two students were shot dead by police in Narsingdi Sadar upazila on Thursday afternoon.
The deceased are Tahmed Hasan, 16, a student of class IX at Narsingdi Nachima Kadir Molla High School and Homes and Yemin Emon, a HSC second year student of Narsingdi Ideal College.
Narisingdi district civil surgeon Farhana Ahmed confirmed the death of two youths but refused to link both deaths with student protests.
鈥榃e have two protests here. One is against Rural Electrification Board and one is student protest. We are not sure who died where,鈥� she said.聽聽
Brigadier General Mohammad Taslim Uddin, the director of Chittagong Medical College Hospital, said two bullet-hit people were brought dead to the hospital following a clash in the city.
Journalist Mehedi Hasan of online news portal Dhaka Times was shot dead in Dhaka鈥檚 Jatrabari area while covering the protest, his editor Arifur Rahman confirmed.
Bachchu Mia, the in-charge of the police outpost in Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said that they received seven dead bodies killed in protests including that of journalist Mehedi Hasan.
DMCH officials said that more than 200 injured, including several in critical condition, were undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Clashes were reported in areas near Dhaka University area as police resisted students from entering the campus, mostly through the Nilkhet gate, with sound grenade and tear-shells.
At least 50 students of the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology students were injured at Akhalia area in Sylhet in clashes with police and BCL on Thursday.
At least 25 people, including two police members, were injured in separate clashes during the protests in Rajshahi, 抖阴精品 Staff Correspondent in Rajshahi reported.
Students of different educational institutions, including Dumki Aziz Ahmed Degree College, Joygunnecha Secondary School, blocked Patuakhali-Bauphal road.
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology students blocked Sylhet-Sunamganj road and others.
The protesters also blocked Natore-Bogura, Chattogram-Cox鈥檚 Bazar, Dhaka-Sylhet highways and Chasra crossing in Jashore.
Students also blocked the capital鈥檚 entrance points of Dhaka-Mymensingh, Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Aricha highways.
Quota protesters also blocked Dhaka-Tongi rail communication by blocking rail tracks at Mohakhali and Tejgaon.
Amid aggravating situation, the government has, in principle, agreed to reform the quota system and offered a dialogue to protesters, which they readily rejected.
The home ministry in a release later in the evening requested all concerned to refrain from violence.
Otherwise, the law enforcement agencies would apply maximum use of laws to protect lives and properties of the people, the ministry warned.
The ministry said that Bangladesh Television Bhaban, Shetu Bhaban, Disaster Management and Relief Bhaban, different police infrastructures and toll plaza on the Mayor Hanif Flyover were among the government installations that were damaged by the protesters.
This happened despite the government deploying 229 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh across the country amid student protests.
The protesters clashed with police and ruling party supporters earlier on Wednesday night in Dhaka鈥檚 Jatrabari area leading to the killing of a man who was brought dead to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Earlier on Wednesday, police used sound grenade tear-shell and rubber bullets to force students of Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University leave their respective campuses following the announcement of a closure of the universities by authorities
On Monday, a BCL attack on quota protesters on the Dhaka University campus and other places left about 400 injured, triggering anger and anguish.
Clashes erupted on Tuesday as students and protesters returned to the street, in some places ready to fight back if attacked, leaving six people killed on the day.
Protests began on July 1 following a High Court order on June 5 asking the government to restore 30 per cent quotas for the descendants of freedom fighters in public services.