Students of East West University (EWU) and North South University (NSU) clashed sporadically with police and miscreants in front of the respective campuses in the city’s Aftabnagar and Bashundhara areas on Monday as protests against Saturday’s attacks on them spread to a number of universities.
Witnesses said when a group of EWS students gathered in front of the university around 10:30am, police lobbed teargas shells to disperse them.
The law enforcers along with miscreants wearing helmets attacked the students, they said.
A chase and counter-chase took place among the students, police and miscreants, they said, adding that the sporadic clashes continued till 2 pm.
Witnesses said police lobbed teargas canisters at intervals inside the university though its gate remained locked.
The attackers hurled brick bats at the students who took shelter inside the campus. They also retaliated by throwing brick chips targeting the miscreants.
Police also picked some of the students up.
The NSU students, police and miscreants clashed intermittently when the students took position near Bashundhara Residential Area main gate in protest against Saturday’s attacks on students, leaving 60-70 people injured, including some pedestrians and street children.
Police lobbed teargas shells to disperse them while the miscreants equipped with sticks chased the students.
At one stage, police ran out of rubber bullets and they launched fresh attacks on the students bringing more bullets from the police headquarters, witnesses said.
The chase and counter-chase which began around 1:30pm continued till 4:20pm.
Police were seen using armoured personnel carriers (APCs)to tackle the situation. They also detained 10 people from the spot.
Meanwhile, a policeman was severely injured after being hit by a rubber bullet fired by one of his colleagues, said witnesses.
The students took position near the main gate of Bashundhara Residential Area while police on the PragatiSarani road at around 6pm.
Besides, several hundred students of Dhaka University staged demonstrations on the campus atnoon, protesting the attacks on the students and demanding resignation of Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan.
Progressive Students Alliance, a platform of left-leaning student organisations, also staged demonstrations at Shahbagh intersection while police dispersed them by firing rubber bullets and teargas shells.
At Shahjalal University, students gathered in front of the main gate of the university around 10am and locked the gate.
Meanwhile, students of different schools and colleges brought out a protest rally from ShaheedMinar in Chowhatta area of the city in the morning.
In Rajshahi, students of Rajshahi University (RU) and Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (Ruet) held separate programmes expressing their solidarity with the student movement demanding safer roads and protesting the attacks on them.
The RU students formed a human chain and brought out a silent procession on the campus around 11 am. At the same time, the Ruet students demonstrated on their campus.
In Khulna, students of Khulna University with placards, festoons and banners gathered at Hadi Chattar on the campus around 11 am and brought out a procession which paraded different roads on the campus.
The university administration and police locked the main entrance of the university to prevent the students from going outside.
However, they unlocked it half an hour later in the face of demonstrations by students.
Several hundred students took to the Dhaka-Khulna Highway around 12 noon and chanted slogans, triggering a serious tailback.
Meanwhile, Khulna city and district units of Bangladesh Chhatra League brought out a procession and held a rally in the city protesting the ‘attack’ on Awami League office in Dhanmondi of the capital.
North South University (NSU) students gathered in front of the university. Photo: Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/UNB
They also expressed their solidarity with the on-going student movement.
Amid the student movement over a nine-point demand, including ensuring safety on roads and resignation of Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, transport owners resumed bus services across the country in the morning after a suspension for several days.
Human rights organisations Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) and Human Rights Forum Bangladesh (HRFB) demanded an immediate end to the attacks and repressions on the students for raising their voice seeking road safety.
Condemning the attacks on journalists, the organisations also asked for freeing Shahidul Alam, Managing Director of Drik Gallery who was detained by the Detective Branch (DB) on Sunday night from his residence.
At Shahjalal University, students gathered in front of the main gate of the university around 10am and locked the gate.
In another development, the Cabinet approved the draft Road Transport Bill with a provision of maximum 5 years’ jail for any death or serious injuries caused by reckless or negligent driving while death penalty for intentional murder by driving.
On July 29, Diya Khanam Mim and Abdul Karim Rajib, students of the college section of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin School and College, were killed as a ‘Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan’ bus ploughed through some students in front of Kurmitola General Hospital on Airport Road which sparked off protests among the students across the country.
The protesting students, who were managing traffic at Jigatala intersection and Mirpur in the capital, came under attacks on Saturday and Sunday.
source:UNB
