Dozens have been injured as police clashed with students and job-seekers demanding reforms to the quotas in public service turning the Dhaka University campus and the capital’s key intersection of Shahbagh into a battleground.
The protesters, who had blocked the Shahbagh since Sunday afternoon, moved back onto the campus in the evening when police started using teargas, rubber bullets, batons and water cannon to disperse them.
The protesters, who gathered sporadically on the campus, responded to the police intervention by hurling stones and brickbats.
Around 11pm on Sunday, demonstrators under the banner of ‘Council to Protect Bangladesh General Students’ Rights’ took position at the Raju Memorial Sculpture on the Dhaka University campus.
Addressing the gathering, Dhaka University student Hasan Al Mamun, the convenor of the council, announced an indefinite strike at all educational institutions across the country from Monday.
Later, the protesters spread out on the campus and vandalised several vehicles.
Running battles between protesters and police continued until the early hours of Monday at several locations of the campus.
Around 1:45am, a group of demonstrators barged into the vice-chancellor’s residence before vandalising furniture and home appliances. They also set fire and damaged vehicles parked inside the premises.
Around 2am, activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League or BCL, the student affiliate of the ruling Awami League, started gathering near the Arts Building on the campus.
Armed with sticks, the BCL activists attacked and dispersed the protesters around half an hour later.
Awami League Joint General Secretary Jahangir Kabir Nanak arrived at the scene around 1:15am and told the protesters that the prime minister was aware of the issue.
He said General Secretary Obaidul Quader would sit with the protesters at 11am on Monday at Hasina’s behest and asked the demonstrators to choose a place for the meeting.
Nanak claimed some anti-government elements infiltrated the protesters and were spreading rumours.
The protests, however, continued as his comments failed to pacify the demonstrators.
Students at Jahangirnagar University, Rajshahi University, Bangladesh Agricultural University and several other institutions in Mymensingh blocked roads and highways in front of the universities.
In Mymensingh, several hundred students blocked the Mymensingh by-pass intersection in the afternoon over the demand for reforms in the quota system.
Around 4:00pm, students from Bangladesh Agricultural University, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University and different colleges, including Government Ananda Mohan College, joined the protest.
Besides, around 300 students of Rajshahi University staged demonstration before the university main gate, and blocked the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway.
Protests demanding reform of the quota system have been continuing for quite some time. Last month, police broke up their march to the Secretariat when several arrests were made.
Amid protests, the public administration ministry announced a decision relaxing it on Mar 6, but the demonstrations continued. The ministry later clarified the decision.
According to the quota system, 56 percent posts are reserved for different quotas, including 30 percent for children of freedom fighters, 10 percent each for women and particular districts, 5 percent for small ethnic groups, and 1 percent for people with disabilities.