At least 70 people were injured as a clash ensued between protesting students and police at Jahangirnagar University (JU).
Dr Md Shamsur Rahman, chief medical officer at the university's medical centre, told Dhaka Tribune: “About 70 students received treatment at our medical centre today (Wednesday) due to the incident.”
He also added: “Out of these, 15 students were severely injured and were sent to Enam Medical College in Savar for advanced treatment. Others may have received primary care elsewhere.”
The daily Prothom Alo journalist Mamun was also injured during the clash.
The confrontation began around 5:30pm on Wednesday on both sides of the road adjacent to the university’s Shaheed Minar.
The altercation escalated when verbal exchanges between police and students led to a tense situation.
The students threw bricks and stones while police dispersed the protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets, and pellet guns.
The protesters took shelter in various buildings, including the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, the old administrative building, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall, the student-teacher centre (TSC), and the under-construction library building.
According to the latest information, although the clash between the two sides ceased around 8:30pm, the situation remains tense.
Currently, students have returned to their dormitories, while police and BGB are stationed and patrolling outside various gates of the campus.
Earlier, at 12:30pm, an emergency syndicate meeting of the university administration decided to suspend academic activities at JU indefinitely and ordered the students to vacate the halls by 4pm on Wednesday.
The students immediately rejected the decision to vacate the halls, locked the registrar's building, and staged a sit-in on the road in front of the Shaheed Minar.
Since then, the police and protesting students have been in a standoff.