At least 253 students arrested in 18 districts in 12 days

Students are also being arrested in cases filed over clashes, attacks and arson in different parts of the country, including the capital, centering the quota reform movement.

At least 253 students were arrested in 18 districts including Dhaka in 12 days (16-28 July) till Sunday. Among them are students of higher secondary level.

Police, prison authorities and the families of the arrested students confirmed the development.

However, the police claim that only the accused involved in the violence are being arrested. The accused persons are being arrested based on the video footage of various violent incidents.

According to court sources, 16 students from different areas of the capital  have been arrested and sent to jail through the court up to yesterday afternoon.

Apart from this, 126 students were arrested in Chattogram, 20 in Kushtia, 16 in Sylhet, eight in Bogura, 15 in Madaripur, 10 in Rajshahi, six in Magura, five in Satkhira, two in Moulvibazar, four in Jamalpur, six in Dhaka district (outside the city area), four in Naogaon, four in Joypurhat, three in Nilphamari, two in Sunamganj, three in Faridpur, one in Chuadanga and two in Narayanganj.

According to various sources, among the arrested students, nine are Jamaat-e-Islami's student wing Chhatra Shibir  leaders-activists and eight are from Chhatra Dal, the student wing of Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Students have been accused in at least 16 cases related to various programmes of the quota reform movement. Among them, the police have registered a case specifically mentioning the names of 20 students of the capital's Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University. In another case, the names of 15 students of Rajshahi University and their departments have been mentioned in the list of accused.

Apart from this, 1,000 to 150,000 people, including unidentified students of the private university BUBT (Bangladesh University of Business and Technology), have been accused in two separate cases in the capital's Rupnagar police station. In another case in Dhaka's Ashulia police station, unidentified students of Jahangirnagar University have been accused.

Apart from this, during the quota reform movement, 11 cases were registered in the capital's Shahbag police station (between 12-21 July) centering various demonstrations of Dhaka University students. Anonymous protesters have been accused in these cases.

At least 126 students were arrested between 16-27 July in Chattogram city and district, Prothom Alo confirmed from multiple sources of police and prison.

The arrested persons are students of Chittagong University, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, International Islamic University, Government City College, Chittagong College, Haji Muhammad Mohsin College, Chittagong Polytechnic Institute, Baitush Sharaf Adarsha Kamil Madrasa, Subhaniya Alia Madrasa and Tanjimul Ummam Madrasa.

Among the students, the court granted a one-day remand to Fahim Uddin, a student of CUET, yesterday for questioning in a case filed under the Special Powers Act at Kotwali police station of Chattogram city. He was arrested on 19 July.

Ramzan Sheikh, a student of Chittagong University, was produced before the court from prison yesterday.

In the presence of the police, he told Prothom Alo in the court premises that many students of various institutions including CU are incarcerated.

A total of 13 students of Baitush Sharaf Adarsha Kamil Madrasa at Dhaniala Para of Doublemooring police station were arrested on 16 July.

One of them, Aziz Ullah, is not involved with any politics, claimed his elder brother and apprentice lawyer Hafiz Ullah. He told Prothom Alo that his brother is studying Fazil at Aliya Madrasa after studying at Qawmi Madrasa. He does not understand why his brother was arrested.

Chattogram Metropolitan Police’s additional deputy commissioner (Media) Kazi Mohammad Tareq Aziz told Prothom Alo that no student was accused in the cases. Only the real accused involved in the incidents are being arrested and police are not arresting innocent people.

However, if anyone is found not involved during the investigation, they will be dropped from the case.

A total of 16 students arrested from Dhaka metropolitan area in various cases related to violence centering the quota movement are now in jail. It is said that six of them are high school students.

According to lawyers and court sources, two high school students have been sent to jail in separate cases of Jatrabari police station, two in a case of Mirpur police station, one in a case of Shahbagh police station and one in a case of Uttara Paschim police station.

Apart from this, Habibur Rahman, a student of Khilgaon Model College, was arrested in a case filed with Khilgaon police station, Safayet Hossain, a student of Saic Nursing College, was arrested in a case of Mirpur police station, Zahirul Khan, a post graduate student of Mirpur Bangla College, was arrested in the case of Kafrul police station.

Three students arrested in a case of New Market police station are Rabbi of Mohammadpur Central College and Yasin Bhuiyan and Harun Or Rashid of Dhaka Central College.

Lawyers’ sources said that Manarat International University's law student Mobasser Mojahid Rafi was arrested in a case of Jatrabari police station, Apu Roy, a student of English department of Northern University was arrested in a case filed with Mirpur police station, Daffodil University student Tanjidur Rahman was arrested in a case of Uttara Paschim police station and Dhaka College student Al Amin was sent to jail in a case of Jatrabari police station.

Apart from this, Dhaka district police sources said that six students were arrested outside DMP area till yesterday. Police say that all of them are involved in Chhatra Shibir politics.

In Sylhet’s Jalalabad police station, 15 were arrested on 18 July and one on 19 July in two separate cases. At least five of the arrested are secondary level students.

Sub inspector (SI) of Jalalabad police station Lokman Hossain told Prothom Alo that although there is information students are among the accused, but no one showed him student's identity cards or certificates.

He said the case is being investigated and a remand plea will be made against the arrested.

On 18 July, a chase and counter chase ensued between the protesting students and the police in front of Matsya Bhaban on the Magura-Jeshore highway. A case was filed by sub inspector (SI) Shimul Halder at Magura Sadar police station on 19 July over this incident. In this case, charges of assault on police and obstructing government work were brought against the protesters. Five students are among the accused in the case. They were arrested that day. Another student was arrested by the police as a suspect in the same case on 21 July.

Of the arrested is Touhiduzzaman Naim, a first year student of law department at Rajshahi University. His lawyer M Mahbubl Akbar told Prothom Alo Touhiduzzaman was not on the list of accused in the case that he was shown arrested in. He even has no connection with the ongoing quota reform movement. He was arrested as a suspect and now being harassed, despite the law minister’s assurance that no student would be charged or harassed in the incident.

Magura’s additional police superintendent Md Kalimullah said the students blocked Magura-Jashore highway. BNP and Jamaat activists also joined in. Although the protesters were asked to leave, they attacked the police leaving several policemen injured. Arrests have been made based on specific allegations.

A total of 16 people were arrested till yesterday in a case filed with Nilphamari Sadar police station. Most of them are students. Family members of three of the arrested claimed that they are children and sought their release at Nilphamari’s Women and Child Repression Prevention Tribunal-1. The court set 30 July for the hearing.

Nilphamari Sadar police station’s officer-in-charge Md Tanvirul Islam told Prothom Alo that only saboteurs who attacked different establishments and police with brickbats on 18 July were identified from video footage and arrested. None were arrested as students.

Seven coordinators of the anti-discrimination student movement that launched the quota reform movement, are currently under the custody of Detective Branch (DB) in Dhaka. That’s why their stance on the arrest of students could not be found.

However, Mohammad Rasel Ahmed, the platform’s coordinator from CU told Prothom Alo on Sunday that they were demonstrating peacefully to press home their logical demands. But they were attacked and shot. Now the students are being arrested and many are being intimidated.

[Staff Correspondents and Correspondents from the relevant areas contributed to this report]