Several hundred students of Notre Dame College took to the streets in Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Sunday protesting against offensive remarks on Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) made by members of the Indian ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The protesting students called for the arrest of the BJP leaders, who made derogatory remarks about the prophet, sought a formal apology from the Indian government and urged all to boycott Indian products.
The students, who took to the streets in front of their educational institution at about 1:00pm, blocked vehicular movements in the Motijheel area and staged demonstrations and sit-in protests at Shapla Chattar roundabout and adjacent roads for nearly an hour.
‘BJP leader Nupur Sharma and other leaders have made derogatory comments on our beloved prophet. We love our prophet. We have joined the protest from our religious commitment,’ said Tanvir Tamim, a student.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Motijheel division additional deputy commissioner Enamul Haque said that the protest was peaceful and no untoward incidents took place.
A group of teachers of the college approached the students and convinced them to withdraw their blockade.
Earlier on Friday, Bangladesh witnessed huge protests across the country against the remarks of BJP leaders.
Thousands of Muslims joined the protests under the banners of different Islamic organisations.
Islami Andolan Bangladesh announced a procession towards the Indian High Commission on June 16 unless India arrested the BJP leaders in question.
Nupur made the remarks in a televised debate in May and videos of her statement had gone viral. Naveen Jindal, the sacked media head of BJP’s Delhi unit, had also posted a provocative tweet on the issue.
