Students call off demo after police reportedly interfere

Road safety protesters have deferred their demonstration as the law enforcers reportedly foiled an attempt of blockading roads by the students.

Police allegedly dispersed the students as they tried to hold demonstrations and blockade roads at Rampura bridge are in the capital on Thursday (December 2).

"We are calling off the scheduled demonstrations for today. Our next course of protest will be announced later," Shohagi Samia told media on behalf of the protesting students.

Condemning the police interference in students today, she said that the movement will be returning to the streets on a bigger scale after the end of the ongoing public examinations.

“We heard that the students took to the streets. It was scheduled earlier. However, adequate number of police have been deployed to avert any untoward situation,” Officer in Charge (OC) of Rampura police station told TheReport.live.

Students came down on the roads two weeks ago on 18 November to demand half bus fare which later picked up the concern of road safety after two students died in separate road accidents last week.

Recent road accidents that killed two students – Notre Dame College student Nayeem Hasan and SSC candidate Mainuddin Islam Durjoy in Rampura and Gulistan – fuelled the movement which is now spreading from Dhaka to other cities including Gazipur and Chattogram.

Transport owners in the capital on Tuesday cut the bus fare on some conditions amid the protests. However, the privilege was declared only for Dhaka city.