Khalilur Rahman, a driver of the transport department of Rajarbagh Police Lines, filed a case with Shahbagh Police Station on Friday accusing several unidentified students for vandalizing police vehicles, attacking policemen and beating them up during the ongoing anti-quota agitation.
Shahbagh Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Md. Shaha Alam confirmed the information on Saturday.
According to the case dossier, the anti-quota discrimination student movement had a pre-announced program on July 11. Accordingly, unidentified students gathered in front of the Dhaka University central library and marched in front of different halls and started marching towards Shahbagh intersection around 4pm shouting slogans.
At one stage, the protesters crossed the Shahbagh intersection and created riots and obstructed the government from performing their duties. They broke police barricades at Shahbagh intersection and clashed with police. At that time, the policemen on duty were beaten and injured generally. Later, when they were moving towards Hotel Intercontinental, senior police officials tried to convince the students to return to Shahbagh intersection. At that time, a large number of protesters surrounded the APC-25 and water cannon kept in a safe place beside BSMMU and started dancing.
They tried to force the water cannon driver out of the car and stopped him. As a result, two SS stands in front of APC-25, radio antenna on the left side above the bonnet and mudguard of the rear wheel on the right side and looking glass on the left side of the water cannon were damaged by breaking damage.
A general diary was filed with Shahbagh Police Station in this regard. The students were brought down from APC-25 and water cannon by other senior sirs and tried to calm the situation. But they became more enraged and threw water bottles, tape tennis balls and brick pieces at the police. Many police officers were injured.
It is also mentioned in the case that all senior officers and police members present on the spot tried to control the situation with utmost patience. At one stage, unidentified students from Jagannath University joined the Shahbagh movement and broke the barricade at the gate of BIRDEM Hospital and injured the policemen. They made various types of derogatory remarks aimed at the police.
The students tried to escalate the situation by spreading rumours that they had attacked students of Comilla University and other universities and picked up students at Shahbagh Police Station. At one stage, they rushed to beat the police and left the Shahbagh intersection threatening the police.
On October 4, 2018, the Ministry of Public Administration issued a circular abolishing the quota for freedom fighters in direct recruitment from the ninth to the thirteenth grade. It was said that in the case of direct recruitment to the 9th grade and 10th-13th grade posts, the appointment should be made on the basis of merit list. The existing quota system for direct recruitment to those posts was abolished. Women quota was 10 percent, freedom fighters quota 30 percent, district quota 10 percent, tribals five percent and disabled quota one percent were abolished.
The Freedom Fighters` Children and Generations Central Command Council filed a writ petition in the High Court in 2021 challenging the cancellation of 30 percent of the freedom fighter quota in the circular. The High Court gave its verdict on June 5. In the verdict, the court canceled the government`s circular and ordered to maintain 30 percent quota for freedom fighters. When the state appealed against the verdict, the Appellate Division on July 4 upheld the High Court verdict and asked to file a regular appeal. As a result, the quota in government service will remain in force until the full verdict is published and the appeal is settled.
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