One year ago, Bangladesh witnessed one of the most turbulent chapters in its recent history as the quota reform movement escalated into nationwide unrest, leaving at least 204 people dead and 4,500 arrested across the country.
The day was marked by Sheikh Hasina’s visit to the vandalized Mirpur-10 Metro Rail station, a symbol of the destruction wrought during the protests.
Standing amid shattered glass and scorched infrastructure, she called on the public to help bring the perpetrators to justice.
“I am seeking justice from the masses. I have no words to describe the destruction,” she said.
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader pledged that the prime minister would take responsibility for the families of those killed in the violence.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM) issued a powerful statement through coordinators Asif Mahmud, Abu Baker Mojumdar, and Rifat Rashid, on behalf of Nahid Islam.
The statement urged citizens to honor the dead, support the injured, and identify those responsible for the violence.
It called for grassroots organizing, international advocacy, and pressure on university authorities to reopen campuses.
“The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement is no longer limited to just quota reform,” the statement read. “The issuance of this gazette will not mark the end of their movement”.
In a press briefing, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid accused BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami of orchestrating arson attacks on BTV, the Bridge Division building, and metro rail stations, allegedly using gunpowder in a bid to destabilize the government.
He claimed the tactics mirrored those used during the 1971 Liberation War.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir rejected the allegations, questioning why opposition leaders were not arrested on the spot if they were truly involved.
He demanded an international investigation into the casualties, calling the government’s judicial probe an attempt to “cover up the bloodshed”.
The crackdown intensified as Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) Chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partho was arrested from his Gulshan residence and placed on a five-day remand for allegedly inciting violence.
In response to the unrest, the government postponed the HSC examinations until August 1, citing safety concerns and logistical disruptions.