One year ago on this day, Bangladesh awoke to the grim reality of a country under curfew and in mourning.
The first day of the nationwide lockdown, imposed to quell the escalating student-led uprising, claimed at least 28 lives, including two police officers, as violence continued to ripple across the capital and beyond.
The curfew, briefly eased from 12pm to 2pm, remained firmly in place, with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan confirming its continuation amid mounting unrest.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police launched night-time comb operations, sweeping through neighborhoods in search of agitators and suspects.
Leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM) — Hasnat Abdullah, Sarjis Alam, and Hasib Al Islam — unveiled an 8-point charter of demands and met with Law Minister Anisul Huq, Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury and State Minister for Information Mohammad Ali Arafat.
Hasnat Abdullah declared: “We will sit with the government only after our demands are fulfilled.”
In Narayanganj, three female journalists were physically assaulted while reporting on the unrest, raising fresh concerns over press freedom.
That night, ADSM Coordinator Nahid Islam was abducted from Khilgaon, only to be found nearly 24 hours later on Purbachal Bridge, injured and hospitalized at Gonoshasthaya Kendra.
The crackdown extended to opposition figures.
BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru was arrested, while Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Nazrul Islam Khan were placed on one-day remand.
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader blamed BNP-Jamaat cadres for the violence, accusing them of torching state institutions and looting public property.
Amid the spiraling crisis, prime minister Sheikh Hasina cancelled her scheduled diplomatic visits to Spain and Brazil, signaling the gravity of the situation at home.
g crisis, prime minister Sheikh Hasina cancelled her scheduled diplomatic visits to Spain and Brazil, signaling the gravity of the situation at home.