Activists of ruling Awami League’s students’ wing Bangladesh Chattra League (BCL) have launched a fresh attack on quota reformists.

The attack was reported from the city’s Shibbari intersection on Sunday when the quota reformists were returning to Raju Sculpture after ending a human chain in the Central Shaheed Minar area of Dhaka University campus.

Prior to the attack, tense prevailed in Shaheed Minar area as BCL activists under the banner of ‘Students Oppressed by Quota Reform Movement’ also formed a human chain on the same time to counter the quota reformists.

Dhaka University teacher Fahmidul Haque, who joined the quota reformists, told Bangla Tribune, “Activists of ruling Awami League’s student wing surrounded us at the end of the progamme on Shaheed Minar.”

“When the students arrived in Shibbari area BCL activists swept on them and assaulted the participating teachers,” said Haque, who teaches at DU’s Mass Communication and Journalism department.

A student identified herself as Tamman Rafia told Bangla Tribune, “Since the beginning of today’s programme, they (BCL) have tried to foil our human chain.”

“They insulted our teachers calling them Jamma-Shibir agents. When we came under attack journalists stepped in, but they attacked them too.”

“BCL DU’s SM Hall unit Organizing Secretary Md Sayem tried to break the journalists’ camera, he even broke several cell phones,” Rafia said before adding when the journalists asked him about it Sayem ran away.

Following the incident, the DU proctorial body asked the outsiders to leaves the campus immediately.

Meanwhile, students of DU’s Sociology department formed a human chain in front of the university’s Social Science building demanding the release of a quota reformist leader.

Sociology’s second-year student Moshiur Rahman, one of the quota reformist leaders, is now behind the bar.

The second-year students also continued boycotting classes and examinations demanding the release of Moshiur.

Recently, the quota reformists come under a wave of attacks by the BCL at different places in the country.

On Jun 30, the first attack was reported on the DU campus, followed by attacks on Rajshahi and Chittagong universities for the next couple of days.

Several leaders of the quota reformists have also put on remand on other cases.

The government also formed a committee to securitize the quota system in civil service.

On Jul 11, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque said the government would not to reform the existing 30 percent quota in civil service for freedom fighters.

In April, students and job-seekers launched street protests demanding reforms to quotas. The demonstrations took a sharp turn when police charged baton and fired tear gas shells on the demonstrators on DU campus, injuring at least 163.

The protesters blocked key points in the capital and roads and highways elsewhere.

In the wake of mass protests, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on April 11 announced in parliament of rescinding quotas in civil service, which she later rescinded.