Allegations have emerged that police baton-charged students who were staging a sit-in protest in Naya Bazar to demand the withdrawal of expulsion orders issued against 26 students of United International University (UIU), among other concerns.
The students began blocking the road around 8:15am on Saturday, reports Bangla Tribune.
Later, around 10:45am, police intervened and forcibly removed them from the road.
Eyewitnesses and protesting students said they were peacefully demonstrating against the expulsions and the university administration’s alleged authoritarian actions.
However, around 9am, police asked them to leave.
When the students refused, police allegedly began baton-charging them and forcibly cleared them from the road.
Several students were reportedly injured in the incident.
Multiple protesting students said: “We were sitting peacefully. We did not engage in any vandalism or violence. Yet, the police came and started beating us without any prior warning, pushing us off the road.”
One student added: “This incident proves that the administration only wants to silence us. We were expelled unjustly, and now we are not even being allowed to speak up about it.”
Earlier, on April 26, UIU students had staged a protest with three demands.
Following that movement, nearly 30 students were expelled.
According to the students, they were expelled simply for posting, commenting, or sharing memes on Facebook, and their families were also harassed.
The students claimed that the university authorities have yet to present any concrete evidence against them.
They also said they reached out to the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Ministry of Education but received no response.
Despite the baton charge, the students have vowed to continue their protest until their demands are met.
