Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Sunday that individuals engaging in sabotage under the guise of protest are no longer students but are instead criminals.
She called on the people of the country to handle these criminals with firm resolve.
The Prime Minister`s message was conveyed to reporters by her assistant press secretary, ABM Sarwar-e-Alam Sarkar.
This statement came on a day marked by severe unrest, with at least 13 people killed and dozens injured during intense clashes in Dhaka and other regions of Bangladesh on the first day of the non-cooperation movement initiated by the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement.