Police use rubber bullets to disperse quota protesters

Demonstrators chant slogans at Shahbagh in Dhaka on 8 April demanding the existing quota system in public services be reformed. Photo: Suvra Kanti Das
Demonstrators chant slogans at Shahbagh in Dhaka on 8 April demanding the existing quota system in public services be reformed. Photo: Suvra Kanti Das

Police dispersed the job reform seekers from Shahbagh intersection on Sunday evening, nearly five hours after they blocked the intersection demanding reforms in the existing quota system in the public service, reports UNB.

Although the demonstrators left the Shahbagh intersection in the wake of police's intense baton charge, teargas shells, and rubber bullets, they have taken position in front of the fine arts faculty of the Dhaka University.

Clash between the demonstrators and the law enforcers was continuing till filing this report at 12:30am as the demonstrators are pelting stones at police in response to police's continuous teargas shells.

Police swung into action around 7:50pm after the demonstrators refused to withdraw the blockade, witnesses said.

Students and job-seekers demonstrate in Shahbagh area of Dhaka on Sunday demanding the existing quota system in public services be reformed. Photo: Suvra Kanti Das
Students and job-seekers demonstrate in Shahbagh area of Dhaka on Sunday demanding the existing quota system in public services be reformed. Photo: Suvra Kanti Das

Earlier, several hundred protesters blocked the Shahbagh intersection around 3:00pm, triggering gridlocks in roads around the intersection and inflicting sufferings on the city dwellers.

As part of the countrywide programme announced earlier by Bangladesh Shadharan Chhatra Odhikar Sangrakkhan Parishad (Bangladesh General Students' Right Protection Council), students of different universities and colleges, and job seekers demonstrated in front of the Dhaka University Central Library in the afternoon.

From there, they brought out a rally around 2:30pm which paraded different important points of the university.

Later, they marched towards Shahbagh to stage a sit-in programme there to press for their demand.

Thousands of job-seekers and students of different educational institutions took part in the demonstrations across the country. This photo was taken in Dhaka University area on 8 April. Photo: Mostaq Ahmed
Thousands of job-seekers and students of different educational institutions took part in the demonstrations across the country. This photo was taken in Dhaka University area on 8 April. Photo: Mostaq Ahmed

Additional law enforcers remained deployed in the area but they did not take any action until the evening.

Speaking on the occasion, Hasan Al Mamun, convener of the parishad, said they will continue their movement until their demands were met.

On 17 February, students and job seekers started the movement to press for their five-point demand that include introduction of unified age limit in government jobs, review of quota system in government recruitment process, including Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination, stopping taking benefit by job seekers under the same quota, filling vacant posts from merit list if the candidates from quota are not found and fixation of 10 per cent quota instead of existing 56 per cent.

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