Thousands of
students came out of their dormitories and fought pitched battles with
police on and around the
campus for hours, leaving at least 150 injured. They went on the rampage, demanding immediate removal of an
army camp from DU. At least three vehicles--two passenger buses and a pickup--were set ablaze while more than a hundred were vandalised at New Market, Shahbagh, Palashi, Science Laboratory Crossing, and Bangabazar areas.
Late at night, a group of unidentified youth attacked the Dhanmondi residence of Education Adviser Ayub Quadri. But nobody was reported injured.
Demonstrations raged past the midnight on the DU campus. Chase and counter-chase between police and the students were on in front of Sir AF Rahman Hall and at the Palashi intersection as of filing this report at 1:00am.
Violence that subsided with the police leaving the campus at around 1:30pm started afresh soon after a student was beaten up in front of Nilkhet police camp at around 6:30pm. As the news spread, hundreds of students burst into fierce demonstrations.
Roads in the area became a battlefield just half an hour after the
government announced army withdrawal from the campus. Police lobbed tear gas shells inside two female dormitories--Kuwait Moitree Hall and Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall--at around 7:45pm to prevent the female students joining the demonstrations.
Earlier in the day, the protests gathered momentum as students from other educational institutions including BUET, Dhaka College, Jagannath
University, Titumir College, Government Kabi Nazrul College, and Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University took to the streets. Fighting leapt up to Satmasjid Road in the evening.
The protest fever raged through the
country with students of Jahangirnagar University, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet, Mymensingh Agricultural University, Islamic University at Kushtia, Carmichael University College in Rangpur, Brojomohon College in Barisal and a few other institutions joining in.
Late in the afternoon, the government decided to remove the army camp from the DU campus and apologised for Monday''s incident. But that could not douse the anger of students as the violence continued into the night.
A strike has been called at educational institutions across the country for today. Meanwhile, the DU authorities have postponed all scheduled examinations till August 28 as the indefinite strike called in protest at the police and army excess went on.
In yesterday''s clash police fired several hundred tear gas canisters and students responded by pelting stones and brickbats.
STUDENTS'' FIVE-POINT DEMAND The agitating students announced a five-point demand at a press conference at the Madhur Canteen yesterday afternoon. Those include withdrawal of army and police camps from educational institutions across the country within the next 24 hours, punishment to the culprits in the Monday evening''s and the following incidents, a public apology from army chief Gen Moeen U Ahmed, treatment and compensation for the wounded in the last two days'' violence, and guarantee of a democratic environment throughout the country.
Expressing solidarity with the students, the Dhaka University Teachers Association too has demanded withdrawal of the army camp within 12:00 noon today.
VC''S PRESS BRIEFING DU acting Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof AFM Yusuf Haider met Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed at around 3:00pm. Later in the evening, addressing a press briefing at his office he said the government has expressed regret for the untoward incidents and pledged to take action against the army men responsible for the assault on students and teachers.
The government also assured the VC of bearing the medical expenses and compensation for the injured students.
A judicial probe body would investigate the sequence of events otwo days to find out the persons responsible, he added. "As soon as we get a list of the arrestee students, we will act to have them free," said Prof Haider, also Pro-VC of the university.
He assured that students who took part in the demonstrations would not be subject to any harassment in future. He appealed for calm as he thinks the demands have already been met.
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