Fresh protests began today over a controversial quota in Bangladesh
New Delhi:
India has asked its citizens living in Bangladesh to be in touch and remain alert after 32 people died in fresh clashes between protesters and supporters of the ruling Awami League. Dozens were also injured in fierce clashes today.
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“All Indian nationals including students living in the jurisdiction of the Assistant High Commission of India, Sylhet are requested to be in touch with this office and are advised to remain alert. In case of emergencies, please contact +88-01313076402,” the Assistant High Commission said in a post on X.
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The protests over government jobs quota restarted today with demands for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.
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Just days ago, over 200 people were killed in violent clashes between the police and mostly student protesters demanding an end to the controversial quota system that reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s War of Independence in 1971.
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The clashes broke out this morning when protesters attending a non-cooperation programme to demand the government’s resignation faced opposition from the supporters of the Awami League, Chhatra League, and Jubo League activists, news agency PTI reported.
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The Bangladesh Home Ministry decided to impose an indefinite countrywide curfew from 6 pm today. Prime Minister Hasina said that those engaging in sabotage across Bangladesh in the name of protests are not students but terrorists and asked people to suppress them with a firm hand.
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Ms Hasina called a meeting of the National Committee on Security Affairs at Ganabhaban. “I appeal to the countrymen to suppress these terrorists with a firm hand,” she said. The meeting was attended by the chiefs of the army, navy, air force, police and other agencies.
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In Rangpur, four Awami League supporters were killed and over 100 people injured while two people were killed each in Bogra and Magura, where a Chhatra Dal leader was among the dead, local media reported,
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The protesters under the banner of the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement chanted slogans calling for Ms Hasina’s resignation and justice for those killed in the recent violence surrounding the quota reform protests, Bdnews24 news portal reported.
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According to the Daily Star newspaper, several vehicles at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) were torched on Sunday by unidentified people. People carrying sticks were seen vandalising cars, ambulances, motorcycles, and buses.
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The protesters have dismissed Ms Hasina’s invitation for dialogue aimed at quelling escalating violence and consolidated their demands into a unified call for the government’s resignation.
With inputs from PTI
