6 killed as violence spreads
In a major escalation of violence, at least six people, including three students, were killed and several hundred injured in clashes between quota protesters and Chhatra League activists and police across the country yesterday.
Three, including two students, were killed in clashes between the protesters and BCL men in Chattogram.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. In the capital, two people died after being attacked in Dhaka College and Science Lab areas where protesters and Chhatra League activists fought pitched battles for over seven hours.
In Rangpur, a student of Begum Rokeya University was killed in police firing during a protest.
Incensed by Monday's BCL attacks on Dhaka University campus, the quota protests swelled yesterday with students from private universities and colleges joining.
Soon the violence spread nationwide. Clashes between BCL men and police and students demanding reforms to the quota system were reported in Rajshahi, Bogura, Jhenidah, Cox's Bazar, Narsingdi, Sirajganj, Barishal, Kishoreganj, and Faridpur as well.
The government deployed BGB in Dhaka, Chattogram, Bogura, Rangpur, Rajshahi, and Gazipur.
It closed secondary schools and colleges indefinitely and suspended the HSC exams scheduled for Thursday.
Late last night, the University Grants Commission citing an education ministry decision said all public and private universities and their affiliated colleges would be closed until further notice. It asked the students to vacate their dorms as well.
Hasnat Abdullah, one of the coordinators of the quota-reforms protests, said state-sponsored attacks were carried out against the protesters across the country.
Another coordinator, Asif Mahmud, announced that there would be a coffin procession and a gayebana janaza (funeral without the body) at Raju Bhashkarjo at 2:00pm today to pray for the salvation of those killed during the violence.
He urged all students to join.
Yesterday, they blocked key intersections in the capital, including Jatrabari, Science Lab, Pragati Sarani, Shantinagar, Badda, Motijheel Shapla Chattar, Tantibazar, Uttara, and Beribandh, bringing traffic to a halt.
They also blocked rail lines in Mohakhali for more than six hours, snapping communications between Dhaka and most parts of the country.
The students also obstructed Dhaka-Chattogram, Dhaka-Sylhet, Dhaka-Tangail, Dhaka-Mymensingh, and Chattogram-Cox's Bazar highways for most of the day.
Tension was high on public university campuses yesterday following the incidents of attacks on Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University students on Monday and early yesterday.
Yesterday, Chhatra League and quota protesters held separate rallies on DU campus. Both the groups ended their programmes without any major incident. Chhatra League held a rally near TSC while the demonstrators held their rally at the Central Shaheed Minar in the evening.
But there was mayhem in Dhaka College and Science Lab areas and violence in Chankharpul, Rayshahebbazar of Old Dhaka, Bhatara on Pragati Sarani, Mirpur-10, and Farmgate.
Two youths were killed during clashes in Dhaka College and Science Lab areas between the BCL men and protesters.
One of the two was identified as Md Shajahan, 24, a hawker who had a makeshift shop in front of Balaka Cinema Hall.
He was found in a pool of blood near City College and was declared dead at Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 7:00pm.
"My son had nothing to do with the protest. He was a hawker. Who killed him?" lamented Ayesha Begum, the mother of the youth, at the DMCH.
In the afternoon, another youth with critical head injuries was found near Dhaka College. Sabuj Ali, 25, son of Badsha Ali and Surja Banu, of Nilphamari Sadar was taken to DMCH where he was declared dead. Police had to scan his fingerprint to ID him.
Science Lab area turned into a battle zone as clashes continued between quota protesters, mostly college students, and Chhatra League activists for over seven hours.
Both stick-wielding groups threw brick chunks at each other and chased each other.
The clash ensued around 1:45pm and finally ended after 8:45pm.
At least 127 people, including protesters and BCL activists, were injured.
Ten crude bombs exploded during the clashes.
Chase and counter-chase continued for hours with brief pauses. At least two police personnel were assaulted at the time. And the protesters vandalised a police box.
Around 7:00pm, the protesters chased away Awami League leader and former member of parliament Haji Salim at Science Lab intersection near LabAid Hospital.
Md Babu, who accompanied Haji Selim, told The Daily Star that the AL leader had seen a doctor and was leaving in his vehicle when 300 to 400 protesters stopped his and an accompanying vehicle.
Haji Salim and four of his aides were chased into the LabAid Hospital.
Four students of Jagannath University and a student of Kobi Nazrul Government College were shot at Rayshahebbazar intersection in Old Dhaka.
Protesters claimed that when several hundred students took out a procession around 3:30pm, AL and Jubo League activists attacked them.
The five were undergoing treatment at the DMCH.
Two buses were torched in front of the Jatiya Press Club in the evening.
Around noon, a brief clash broke out between students of Dhaka International University, United International University and American International University, Bangladesh, and activists of Chhatra League in Bhatara area.
Rajon Kumar Saha, assistant commissioner of Badda zone, said, "We removed the Chhatra League activists from the area and the students were demonstrating on the road."
Students of BRAC University blocked a road in Merul Badda area around 10:00am.
Habibur Rahman, commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said, "We are working strategically to keep the law-and-order situation under control."
"A police sergeant and a constable were hurt …"
CHATTOGRAM
Three people were killed during clashes between the quota protesters and BCL men in Chattogram.
The victims were Wasim Akram, 24, a student of Chittagong College, Faisal Ahmed, 24, student of management at the Omargani MES College, and Md Faruk, 32, an employee of a furniture shop, said Chittagong Medical College Hospital doctors and police.
Nuzhat Inu, on duty doctor at the CMCH, said the body of Faruk had bullet injury marks while Akram was stabbed.
Some 30 injured people were admitted to the hospital.
CMCH Director Brig Gen Taslim Uddin said the condition of two were critical.
The protesters were supposed to hold a rally in Sholashahar Railway Station area around 3:00pm, but BCL activists occupied the venue since 1:00pm.
When the demonstrators were heading towards the venue in droves, Chhatra League men attacked them at Muradpur, Sholashahar Railway Station and Sholashahar Gate No 2, triggering chases and counter chases, witnesses said.
In Muradpur, Chhatra League activists hurling brick chunks at students, prompting the students to retaliate in kind. There were running battles too.
During the clash, several gunshots were heard.
Chhatra League activists retreated and went inside Meer Manzil, a residential building near Muradpur intersection.
They started throwing brick chunks and flower pots at protesters from the roof of the building, The Daily Star correspondents saw and took footage of it.
The demonstrators then stormed the building and beat up the BCL men.
In the face of the fierce attack by the demonstrators, many Chhatra League men tried climbing down from the building using the external plumbing, shows a video clip making the rounds in social media.
A handful of protesters were seen pelting the Chhatra League activists with stones, causing at least two activists to fall from the five-storey building.
"At least 10 Chhatra League activists were stabbed," said Nurul Azim Roni, former general secretary of Chattogram city unit Chhatra League, who led the Chhatra League activists there.
He claimed that Jamaat-Shibir activists in disguise were behind the attack on BCL men.
Saiful Islam, commissioner of Chattogram Metropolitan Police, told this newspaper that they recovered two bodies from Sholashahar Railway Station area around 4:30pm.
RANGPUR
Abu Sayed, 25, a student of English department at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, was killed during a clash between police and the protesters on campus yesterday.
He was the son of Mokbul Hossain from Babanpur village of Rangpur's Pirganj upazila.
Demonstrators said a procession of students from Lalbagh area reached the university Gate-1 around 2:30pm and a clash ensued with the police.
A video clip making the rounds in social media shows a shot being fired at Sayed when he is standing with his arms spread out in front of a group of police across the street. Moments later, he is seen falling to the ground.
A student who took Sayed to the hospital, said, "Police were firing rubber bullets and tear gas at us. Sayed was hit in the chest and fell unconscious on the street. We took him to the hospital in a battery-run rickshaw. I tried to talk to him, but he did not respond."
Eunus Ali, director of Rangpur Medical College Hospital, said, "One injured student was brought dead to the hospital at 3:05pm."
"The emergency unit informed me that he suffered injuries from rubber bullets," he said.
Around 30 students, including several female students, were also injured in the incident.
Md Moniruzzaman, commissioner of Rangpur Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star that a group of students were demonstrating on the campus around 2:30pm.
He said students from nearby education institutions also joined the protest.
He claimed that the protesters attacked a police station nearby, injuring several police personnel, and damaged vehicles. The clash ensued as police retaliated, he said.
Tension ran high when student attempted to take Sayed's body to the campus as the police intercepted and took the body to the hospital for an autopsy.
The protesters set fire to the residence of Begum Rokeya University vice-chancellor following the death of its student Abu Sayed in police firing. The students also ransacked the ground floor of the residence.
VC Prof Abdur Rashid along with 15 to 20 officials, teachers, and staffers were confined to the building when the students attacked the residence in the evening, reports our Dinajpur correspondent.
The protesters also torched five university vehicles, said Asaduzzaman Mondal, general secretary of BRUR's teachers' association, adding that the students left the area after 7:00pm.
Law enforcers later rescued them, the teacher said.
The students also set fire to a BCL leader's room at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall of the university.
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