Over 70 students were injured as violent clashes erupted at the Bangladesh Secretariat amid protests over SSC exam results and a deadly aircraft crash in Dhaka. Police used batons and teargas to disperse the crowd, leading to chaos in Gulistan and widespread traffic disruption across the capital.
A clash broke out between police-secretariat staff and students when a group of students forcefully entered the Bangladesh Secretariat premises on Tuesday afternoon at one stage of their intense demonstrations to press home their several demands. Police fired teargas shells and charged batons to disperse them, witnesses said.
More than 70 students were injured in police action at the Secretariat, with many currently receiving treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
According to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), over 70 injured students arrived in the afternoon and received primary treatment, with no one reported to be in critical condition.
Several vehicles were also vandalised near the Secretariat, one of the Key Point Installations (KPI) areas in the capital. The protests began around 2:15pm at Gate No. 1, where students gathered and started chanting slogans, including ‘Fake, fake!’, “Why did my brother die? The administration must answer!” and “Action, action, direct action!”
Sources said some of the demonstrators were students who failed this year’s Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations and are demanding a reevaluation of their results.
Others joined from the capital’s Uttara Diabari area, protesting Monday’s crash of an Air Force aircraft into Milestone School and College, which left 31 dead and at least 165 injured.
Meanwhile, another group of students rallied from the Dhaka Education Board office and marched towards the Secretariat, also demanding revaluation for SSC exam failures.
Law enforcement agencies, including police and army personnel, deployed in and around the Secretariat to maintain public order.
Due to the gate closures, vehicles inside the compound are unable to exit, resulting in severe traffic congestion and growing concern among officials and staff.
Students moved to Stadium Market area near Gulistan on Tuesday afternoon after being dispersed from the Secretariat by law enforcers using baton charge, sound grenades and teargas shells.
Police have now taken position near Noor Hossain Chattar at Zero Point, while students remain stationed at the Stadium Market, blocking a major part of Gulistan’s road network and disrupting vehicular movement in the area.
The confrontation began earlier in the day when demonstrators broke through Gate No. 1 of the Secretariat, demanding justice over a recent aviation incident involving Milestone College students and seeking the resignation of Education Adviser CR Abrar for delaying the HSC examination suspension.
As soon as students entered the Secretariat compound, law enforcement personnel launched a counter-assault using batons, teargas shells and sound grenades, dispersing the group and causing chaos in the surrounding areas.
A large section of the protesters later regrouped on the main road in front of Stadium Market, where police again tried to remove them by firing teargas shells and sound grenades. Protesters responded by throwing stones and bricks at police.
Security has been heightened around the Secretariat, with personnel from police, RAB, Coast Guard and BGB deployed in front of Gate No. 1. Traffic movement on the road adjacent to the Secretariat has resumed.
| Also Read: Bangladesh Air Force jet crash in Dhaka: Death toll rises to 31 |
Vehicular movement on parts of Gulistan road remains suspended as students continue to occupy the Stadium Market area. Clashes between protesters and police were going on in the area at the time of filing this report.
