SUST students brought out a procession in Sylhet, as part of the Students Against Discrimination's nationwide march programme.
SUST students brought out a procession in Sylhet, as part of the Students Against Discrimination's nationwide march programme.
Bangladesh

SUST: Police foil students march, firing tear gas shells, sound grenades

CorrespondentShahjalal University 

The police fired tear gas shells and sound grenades when the protesting students brought out a procession in Sylhet city on Wednesday afternoon.

The incident took place in the Subid Bazar area around 1:00 pm. The police managed to disperse the protesting students, and no casualties were reported until the filing of this report.

According to witnesses, a group of students of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) brought out a procession, defying police barriers at places. When they reached the Subid Bazar area, the police blocked their way, and it led to scuffles between two sides.

At one stage, the students pushed aside the police barriers and continued their march towards the court point area. The police took position beside the road and fired tear gas shells and sound grenades, while the students replied by throwing brick chips. The police, however, managed to disperse the protesters.

The police blocked the procession at Subid Bazar of the city.

Earlier, the students gathered near the university’s main entrance around 11:00 am, to hold their ‘March for Justice’ programme. As the police did not allow them on the Sylhet-Sunamganj highway before the entrance, the protesting students took position below the nearby foot overbridge and started chanting slogans.

Speaking to the media around 11:45am, Faisal Hossain, a coordinator of the Students Against Discrimination at SUST, said, “It is not a police university, and we want to tell the police please cooperate with us.”

He later declared to hold demonstrations on the main entrance premises and a march towards the Court Point area.

The police blocked their way when they were approaching the Court Point area. After 15 minutes of altercation between two sides, the protesting students resumed their march towards the destination, foiling the police blockade.

More than a thousand students from the university and adjacent educational institutions joined the march programme. They were carrying placards emblazoned with various slogans in favour of their demand.

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