The Jagannath University campus and its adjacent areas at the capital’s southern part turned into a battlefield when several hundred students and police locked into phases of fierce clashes, leaving around 100 people, including 25 policemen, several teachers and many students injured.
During the clashes, students removed police barricades, locked in scuffles and hurled brick chips at the police, who retaliated with rubber bullets and teargas canisters apart from charging at the students with batons.
Chases and counter chases took place between police and students while the students staged angry demonstrations by setting fire to various materials on the roads.
Transport movements suspended and business establishments and other offices remained shut following the clashes, which erupted around 11:30am and endured for about an hour.
The students and teachers of the university had been carrying out movements in the past several weeks demanding the recovery of Tibbet Hall, which was occupied by illegal grabbers.
Earlier, several thousand students took to the streets from 10:30am, brought out several processions which paraded on different roads from English to Banglabazar, while police put barricades on different roads.
Harun-ur-Rashid, deputy commissioner at Lalbagh Division, said more than 25 policemen including he himself sustained injuries in the attacks on the law enforcers indiscriminately.
“The unruly students swooped on the law enforcers from different sides and top of different buildings at a time leaving more than 25 policemen injured,” said DC Harun ur Rashid, adding that “Police resorted to open gunshots to bring the situation under control.”
He said police was not against the movement of the students, but the students had been acting too unruly.
According to witnesses, a panicky situation was created in the entire area when several hundred students and police locked in clashes. All the roads were found filled up with brick chips.
A tense situation was prevailing between both the students and the police while a huge number of additional forces were deployed in the area to keep the situation under control.
Some of the teachers had been trying to keep the students under control and take them back inside the university campus and also requested DC Harun ur Rashid to withdraw additional forces from the campus area.
Injured students, police and teachers were admitted to different hospitals and clinics although their identities could not be known immediately.
