Students gather in front of Bashundhara R/A

Students of various institutions took to the streets in the capital's Bashundhara Residential Area on Wednesday demanding safe roads, a day after the death of a Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) student.

The demonstrators waved flags and chanted slogans like 'Action, action, direct action' and so on.

Around 30-35 students of different private universities gathered in front of the Bashundhara Residential Area's main gate and the number increased in no time.

They demonstrate to force the authorities accept their demands, including maximum punishment of the bus driver who killed Abrar on Tuesday, reports UNB.

Other demands include checking papers of drivers on regular basis, making transport sector free from political influence, construction of foot overbridges, installing speed-breakers at risky points and stopping unfit vehicles from plying.

Witnesses said hundreds of students from BUP, North South University and Siddheshwari College occupied the street just after 9am, halting traffic on the busy road.

They shouted slogans demanding justice for Abrar, a first-year undergraduate international relations student.

Abrar, son of Brig Gen (retd) Arif Ahmed Chowdhury, died after being run over by 'Suprovat Paribahan' bus in front of the Bashundhara gate around 7:15am on Tuesday.

The agitating students also called for boycotting classes at all the educational institutions across the country on Wednesday and urged the students to take position in front of their respective institutions to express solidarity with the protesters' demands.

Similar demonstration took place last year from 29 July to 8 August as a ‘Jabal-e-Noor Paribahar bus ploughed through some students at the airport road and killed two students Diya KHanam Mim and Abdul Karim Rajib. Abrar had been a supporter of the demonstration at the time.

The then protests for safe roads drew attention of various local and foreign media creating quite a stir in the country.