At the call of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, the second day of the ‘Complete Shutdown’ (total blockade) was observed on Friday, 19 July. Intense protests, clashes, and violence across the country led to the deaths of at least 56 people on this day. Of them, at least 44 were killed in shootings and clashes in various parts of the capital, Dhaka alone.
A number of people were injured throughout the day, including leaders and activists of various political parties, police officers, journalists, and pedestrians. Major clashes erupted in Dhaka’s Rampura, Badda, Jatrabari, and Uttara areas. To suppress the protests, tear gas shells and sound grenades were launched from helicopters in several parts of the city that day.
In support of the students’ demand for reforms in the quota system, the BNP had announced a programme titled ‘National Unity Rally and March’ in front of the National Press Club that afternoon. A series of clashes broke out between BNP activists and police centering the rally.
That day the police had fired rubber bullets, sound grenades, and tear gas shells while charging on with batons to disperse a procession of the Ganatantra Mancha on Topkhana Road. In Paltan, rounds of clashes broke out between members of the Islami Andolon Bangladesh and the police.
Initially, the movement had been carried out by students only. However on 19 July, local residents were also seen participating in the protests in various areas of Dhaka.
A rally titled ‘Why is death so easy? : Guardians stand by children’ was held under the banner of the ‘General Body of Guardians’ in front of the National Museum at Shahbagh. Meanwhile, artists from television and theatre, along with members of various cultural organisations staged a silent protest on Manik Mia Avenue.
The internet services remained shut down for that day as well. Newspaper editors’ organisation, the Editors’ Council issued a statement demanding immediate restoration of internet services.
That night, ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina held a meeting at the Ganabhaban with leaders of the 14-party alliance. Following the meeting, a nationwide curfew and military deployment were announced from 12:00 am on 19 July.
Security forces were also active in apprehending the front-line coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. On 19 July, Nahid Islam (now convenor of the NCP), Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain (now an advisor to the interim government), and Md. Abu Baker Mojumder (now convenor of the Gonotantrik Chhatra Sangsad) were picked up from different locations at different times by people, identifying themselves as law enforcement agents.
Baker was picked up from Dhanmondi area in the evening, Asif from Mahanagar Residential Area in Hatirjheel around 11:00 pm, and Nahid from Nandipara area in Khilgaon at midnight.
This issue of state repression during that time has also been highlighted in a fact-finding report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights titled ‘OHCHR Fact-Finding Report: Human Rights Violations and Abuses related to the Protests of July and August 2024 in Bangladesh’.
Published in February this year, the report noted that after imposing the curfew, the police, RAB, and army units jointly carried out home raids, known as ‘block raids’, across neighbourhoods. This was a significant part of mass arrest operations carried out with the goal of crushing protests and wider political movements against the then government.
Nine-point demands
At around 9:30 pm on 19 July, Anti-Discrimination Student Movement coordinator Abdul Kader (now a leader of the Gonotantrik Chhatra Sangsad), announced a renewed ‘Complete Shutdown’ alongside a nine-point demands.
The first of these demands was that the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina must take responsibility for the killings of students and publicly apologise to the nation.
The second one was that the then home affairs minister Asaduzzaman Khan as well as the then road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader must resign from both the cabinet and party posts for their accountability in the killings.
The third one was that the DIGs, Police Commissioners, and Superintendents of Police in all the areas including Dhaka where students were killed must be dismissed from service.
The fourth one was that the vice-chancellors and proctors of Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, and Rajshahi University must resign.
The fifth one was that the police officers, who fired shots, as well as the leaders and activists of Chhatra League and Jubo League who carried out brutal attacks, or gave the orders, must be arrested and charged with murder as soon as possible.
The sixth one was that the families of students and civilians killed or injured across the country must be compensated.
The seventh one was that the Chhatra League and other party-affiliated political student organisations must be banned from all educational institutions, including DU, JU, CU, RU, and student unions must be reinstated.
The eighth one was that all educational institutions and halls must be reopened immediately.
The ninth one was that the students involved in the quota reform movement must be guaranteed protection from all forms of academic and administrative harassment.
One of the key coordinator of the protesters, Abdul Kader had announced that the ‘Complete Shutdown’ would continue until the nine-point demands were met. That same night, three other coordinators of the movement released eight-point demands and that was broadcast on various television channels.
It was stated that prior to this coordinators Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah, and co-coordinator Hasib Al Islam had met with then law minister Anisul Huq, education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, and state minister for information and broadcast Mohammad Ali Arafat at the state guesthouse Padma. Sarjis and Hasnat are now NCP leaders while, Hasib is a leader of the Gonotantrik Chhatra Sangsad.
However, the eight-point demands did not include the demand that the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina must take responsibility for the killings of students and publicly apologise to the nation. Instead, its first point called for murder cases to be filed against those found responsible after investigation, and the second point called for swift arrests and trials of those responsible.
However, there was broader support among students and the public for the nine-point demand then. Speaking to Prothom Alo about the nine-point demand last Wednesday, Abdul Kader said, “On 17 July, police opened fire on us during a Gayebana Janaza (symbolic funeral) at Dhaka University campus. I was among those injured while Abdul Hannan Masud (now an NCP leader) sustained gunshot injury.”
“From that moment we decided to go into strategic hiding to avoid arrest for the sake of continuing to lead the movement. We kept changing locations repeatedly. The nine-point demands were created based on an online meeting on 16 July, demands made on the social media, and with consultations from then secretary of Dhaka University Chhatra Shibir unit, SM Farhad,” added Abdul Kader.