Protesting engineering students have announced they will continue their sit-in at Dhaka’s Shahbagh intersection, demanding an apology from the Home Affairs Adviser and placing a five-point charter of demands after alleging police attacks during their ongoing movement.
Rejecting the government-formed committee to “assess the rationality” of BSc and diploma engineers’ demands, the students demanded proper treatment for those injured in police action, dismissal and prosecution of the police personnel involved in the assault, and assurance of safety for students taking part in the demonstrations.
The announcement came at a briefing around 5:30 pm Wednesday near the InterContinental Hotel in Dhaka, where Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) civil engineering student Jubair Ahmed presented the demands on behalf of the protesters.
On Tuesday, the students had blockaded Shahbagh for five hours before announcing a “Long March to Dhaka” program. As part of that campaign, students from BUET and several other universities again took position on the main Shahbagh road from 11 am Wednesday, halting traffic and causing severe congestion across surrounding areas.
Around 1:30 pm, police dispersed a procession of students heading towards the Chief Adviser’s residence in Jamuna, firing sound grenades and tear gas. Clashes broke out, with police and students engaging in chases and scuffles.
At the later briefing, Jubair claimed that 50–60 students had been injured in the clashes. Students also chanted slogans including, “The movement cannot be stopped by police action.”
