Students and job seekers demanding reforms to the existing quota system in government jobs faced attacked again on Monday.
Protesters in Dhaka had announced a plan to hold a demonstration in front of Dhaka University Library on Monday as part of a nationwide protest.
However, the protest leaders decided to shift the venue to Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka due to the presence of Chhatra League activists at the library premises, reports bdnews24.com.
A group of young people, including leaders and activists of Chhatra League, swooped on the protesters when they had stood with a banner at around 11am at the Shaheed Minar.
They began to beat the protesters indiscriminately and dispersed them.
Sources said, the protesters gathered at the Shaheed Minar to bring out a procession demanding withdrawal of cases filed against them.
The reform seekers blamed Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling party Awami League, for the attacks.
“We have been receiving virtual threats from different fake ID on Facebook but now they are threatening us in reality; that men will go missing while women will be raped,” said Eden College student Lutfar Rahman Luma who participated in demonstration.
“Leaders and activists of Chhatra League have attacked us; they have beaten Farooq Hassan and me as well. I somehow managed to flee the scene,” Hasan Al Mamun, convener of the loose group of protesters, said.
The attackers claimed themselves as ‘students’ when journalists present on the scene asked for their identity.
However, the Chhatra League activists on the scene said they were not representing their party but have been working as general students to maintain a ‘proper environment for education’.
“We are present here as general students. They have spoken ill about the prime minister. They had planned to bring iron rods and sticks in today’s demonstration and unsettle the environment in the campus,” said Mehedi Hasan Sunny, general secretary of Haji Mohammed Mohsin Hall wing of Chhatra League.
“These are none but members of Jamaat-e-Islami or Shibir. That is why we came as general students, not as Chhatra League,” he said.
Dhaka University Proctor AKM Golam Rabbani said he was unware of the attacks and will take necessary measures, if informed.
Quota protesters in Rajshahi University and Chittagong University were also attacked during demonstrations.
Quota protest leaders Hasan Al Mamun, Farooq Hassan and Nurul Haque Nur were beaten up during a press meet on the campus on Saturday.
A group of students have been protesting under the banner of ‘Council to Protect the Rights of Bangladesh General Students’ for last few months demanding reform in quota system in government jobs.
The council is still continuing with its demonstrations as the government gazette is yet to be published despite the prime minister’s promise to abolish the quota system.