Protesters demanding quota reforms in public service jobs reportedly set fire to a police box at Mirpur 10 Dhaka on Thursday, which also led to the authorities suspending metro rail services from Mirpur 12 to Agargaon amid sporadic clashes.
As of 2pm, the police box was engulfed in flames, with the fire spreading rapidly and witnesses reporting that thick plumes of smoke were rising from the scene.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited Director (Operation and Maintenance) Nasir Uddin Ahmed said the services were suspended at 2pm considering the situation, reports UNB.
Clashes between students and police erupted at the Mirpur 10 roundabout in Dhaka around noon.
Protesters reportedly threw brickbats at police, prompting the authorities to respond with sound grenades and tear gas.
As the skirmish continued, protesters pushed the police towards Mirpur police station, while the police drove the protesters back towards Mirpur 10, leading to the closure of all shops in the area, according to media reports.
The protests were organized by the Students Against Discrimination movement in response to alleged attacks on general students allegedly by the Chhatra League, as well as indiscriminate police action against students.
Asif Mahmud, one of the movement's coordinators, on Wednesday announced a "complete shutdown" in a Facebook post.
According to the announcement, all establishments except hospitals and emergency services were to remain closed on Thursday, with no vehicles, except ambulances, allowed on the streets.
The Facebook post mentioned demands for justice for the killings, the end of violence against students, ensuring a terror-free campus and reforming the quota system.
