Clashes between Dhaka college-Ideal college students at Science Lab intersection, traffic disrupted for an hour

Students of Dhaka College and Dhanmondi Ideal College were locked in clashes and chases in the Science Lab area of the capital on Thursday.

As a result, vehicular movement on the Mirpur–New Market road remained suspended for more than an hour.

According to witnesses and police sources, chases and brick-throwing between students of the two colleges began around 11:30 am on Thursday. At one stage, students from both institutions took positions at the Science Lab intersection.

During the clashes, a bus belonging to Dhaka College was vandalised. Consequently, traffic on the Mirpur–New Market route came to a halt. There were also incidents of students throwing bricks at police personnel.

The situation continued for nearly one and a half hours. Police dispersed the students by conducting chases and firing tear gas shells. Vehicular movement resumed after approximately 1:15 pm.

Speaking to Prothom Alo in the afternoon, Md Shawkat Ali, Dhaka Metropolitan Police's additional deputy commissioner of police of the New Market Division, said that the situation was brought under control by firing tear gas shells.

Subsequently, students from both colleges were chased back into their respective campuses, after which traffic returned to normal.

He added that several police personnel were injured after being hit by bricks thrown by the students. However, the initial cause of the clashes could not be determined immediately.