Police restricted access to the road leading to Dhaka’s Madrasa-e-Alia (Alia Madrasa) near the Bakshibazar intersection for around two hours on Saturday amid tensions over access to the madrasa hostel, with Islami Chhatra Shibir alleging that students have been prevented from entering the dormitory since August 6.
The road was barricaded shortly after noon and remained restricted until around 2pm, preventing vehicles from entering the madrasa premises through that route. Vehicles leaving the area, however, faced no obstruction.
After the barricade was removed, police personnel remained stationed near the madrasa dormitory until around 6pm.
An assistant deputy commissioner of Lalbagh Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police told Dhaka Tribune that no formal barricade had been imposed at the intersection.
He said traffic movement had instead been briefly controlled on one side of the road, while the other side remained fully open. The restriction lasted roughly one to one-and-a-half hours, from around 1pm to 2:30pm, as madrasa authorities invited student representatives for talks with the principal.
The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said no notable incident took place at the madrasa on Saturday.
The development came amid allegations by Abdul Alim, president of the Islami Chhatra Shibir unit at the madrasa, that students have been unable to enter the hostel for the past three days.
Alim alleged that students trying to enter the hostel—including both Shibir activists and general students—were beaten and had their phones snatched by Chhatra Dal activists between August 6 and 8.
He claimed around six students had been beaten and said no students, whether affiliated with Shibir or not, had been able to enter the hostel during the period.
Alim further alleged that outsiders affiliated with Chhatra Dal and Jubo Dal had entered the dormitory carrying weapons.
He said there was no separate incident at the madrasa on Saturday.
The allegations could not be independently verified immediately.
