Several students of different private medical and dental colleges were allegedly injured as police dispersed their gathering at Shahbagh crossing on Sunday afternoon.
The injured were taken to nearby hospitals, witnesses said.
Students of different medical and dental colleges across the country blocked the Shahbagh crossing to press home their demands, including introduction of online classes and session-jam-free academic years.
The protesters, under the banner of General Students of MBBS and BDS Course, blocked the road in the afternoon, halting vehicular movement in the area.
Protesters said that they blocked the road in the afternoon after meeting with the dean of the medical faculty of Dhaka University in the morning as the authorities concerned did not take any action as per their demands.
The protesters alleged that police charged baton on their peaceful sit-in programme.
The police also took the demonstrators to Shahbagh police station and threatened them to sue them if they did not withdraw the protest, said an organiser seeking anonymity.
‘On Thursday, (November 5, 2020) the dean asked us to meet with him on Sunday (November 8) with a written statement. But, after meeting with him today, he asked us to meet with him tomorrow. This is harassment,’ he added.
Shahbagh police officer-in-charge Mamun-or-Rashid denied allegation of charging baton on protesters.
He said, ‘We had to force them to leave the place to ease the traffic. We just chased them towards DU campus.’
Students of private dental and medical colleges started the movement on November 1 to press home their four-point demands.
The demands are — immediate steps to end session jam, directives for online classes for the next course, no extra fees (more than 60 months or 48 months under old curriculum), and taking professional examinations considering the students’ safety.
