Dhaka, Apr 8 (Just News): At least 20 people, including six journalists, were injured as police swung into action to disperse job-seekers and university students from Shahbagh intersection on Sunday evening, five hours after they blocked it demanding reforms of the existing quota system in government recruitment tests, including BCS examination.
The wounded journalists are UNB Dhaka University correspondent Imran Hossain, Prothom Alo DU correspondent Ashiqur Rahman, Dhaka Tribune's university correspondent Fahim Reza, bdnews24.com's correspondent Tareq Al Hasan, BSS correspondent Quamruzzaman Reza and the cameraperson of ATN Bangla Television.
Several thousand protesters blocked the Shahbagh intersection around 3pm, 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 OdhikarSangrakkhan Parishad (Bangladesh General Students' Right Protection Council), students of different city 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 2:30 pm 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.
Although additional law enforcers remained deployed in the area, they did not take any action until the evening.
Police swung into action around 7:50pm after the demonstrators refused to withdraw the blockade, witnesses said.
They charged baton and lobbed teargas shells and rubber bullets on the agitating students and job-seekers to disperse them.
Amid the police action, the demonstrators ran towards the DU campus.
However, they again tried to march towards Shahbagh triggering chase and counter-chase with the law enforcers.
Around 8:50 pm, Bangladesh Chhatra League activists joined police to chase the protesters from in front of the DU Central Mosque, said witnesses.
Being attacked with sticks and bamboos, the demonstrators fled in small groups to different corners of the campus.
Earlier, speaking during the demonstration, Hasan Al Mamun, convener of the parishad, said they would continue their movement until their demands was met.
On February 17, 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 percent quota instead of existing 56 percent.
(Justnews/ys/2350hr)
