Several hundred students have blocked the road at Dhaka’s Bakshibazar intersection after allegations that a student was threatened with assault and rape after she paid the discounted half fare on a bus.
Protesters blocked the road from 11 am to 12:15 pm on Sunday and called for students to receive a half-fare pass for mass transport, reports bdnews24.com.
Students from Begum Badrunnessa Govt Girls College and other educational institutions across Dhaka took part in the protest, said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Kudrat-e-Khuda.
“The students blocked the road calling for three demands - for buses to accept half fares from students, for buses to allow students to board and justice for the harassment and threats faced by one student for paying the half fare,” he said. “We spoke to them and convinced them to clear the road.”
On Saturday, a Thikana Paribahan bus refused to accept the discounted half fare for a female higher secondary student from Badrunnessa College, students said. The bus driver’s helper then ‘threatened her with rape’.
Many buses keep their door closed when they see students, the protesters say. They also throw students off buses if they attempt to pay the discounted half fare.
To protest this, students led a march from Badrunnessa College to the Bakshibazar intersection on Sunday morning and then blocked the road. They were then joined by students of other colleges.
The demonstration brought traffic to a halt from Chankharpul to Bakshibazar and from Bakshibazar to the Dhaka Education Board and the road opposite BUET.
The protesters carried placards that said – ‘Threatened with rape for paying half the fare - Bangladesh is ashamed’, ‘We are women, we are children, we are protesters’, ‘stop violence', and ‘half-pass is our right’.
Asked about the allegations, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Kudrat-e-Khuda said: “They said the bus staff ‘misbehaved’. Though they could identify the ‘Thikana Paribahan’ bus, they did not get the number. We told the students that we will find the bus and take action against the helper.”