Job aspirants and students who have been demanding abolition of quotas in government jobs, barring a maximum of 5 per cent for backward communities, blocked the Shahbagh Intersection for an hour on Friday evening in protest against the police attack on students of Comilla University, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University and Chittagong University.
Besides, students of several universities and colleges across the country held rallies on their respective campuses simultaneously in the evening, protesting obstructions and attacks on students on Thursday.
Protesters claimed that at least 20 students of Comilla University (CoU) and 10 of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University at Agargaon in the capital were injured while the police charged batons and fired tear shells to disperse the protesters on Thursday.
However, during the hour-long blockade at the Shahbagh Intersection, one of the coordinators of the Anti-Discriminatory Student Movement, Abu Baker Majumder announced that they will hold mass campaign virtually and in person across the country today (Saturday).
The protesters demanded justice by identifying the police men involved in the alleged attacks and taking action against them.
A meeting is scheduled to be held among student representatives of colleges and universities across the country today.
Students will boycott classes and examinations for an indefinite period, Baker said.
The protesters demanded that the national parliament pass a law, proposing a maximum of 5 per cent quota in government jobs for the children of freedom fighters, backward communities and persons with physical disabilities.
On Friday, hundreds of Dhaka University (DU) students gathered in front of the universitys Central Library at around 4:00pm and later paraded different roads on the campus.
They blocked the Shahbagh Intersection at around 5:15pm and moved away from the streets at around 6:15pm announcing todays programmes - online and offline mass campaign and virtual meeting with college and university representatives.
The protesters said they would hold a press conference at around 6:00pm today (Saturday0 in front of the DU Central Library to announce their next set of programmes.
Our Jahangirnagar University (JU) correspondent reported that students of the university brought out a torch procession from the Central library on the campus at around 7:45pm protesting the police attack on Bangla Blockade demonstrators across the country.
Our Jagannath University (JnU) correspondent added that students of the university on Friday staged a protest rally condemning the recent police brutality against students nationwide during the Bangla Blockade.
The demonstration began at 4:30pm in front of the universitys Arts Building. Afterwards the students took out a procession and paraded road upto Bahadur Shah Park (Victoria Park), and then assembled at the main gate of the campus.
Following the procession, they held a sit-in protest for 30 minutes.
The protest caused significant traffic disruptions in the Sadarghat area.
Meanwhile, students of Rajshahi University blocked a railway line close to their campus in the evening, protesting police attack.
RU students from various dormitories brought out processions and gathered in front of the universitys Central Library at around 4:00pm.
Around 5:00pm, they staged a demonstration after blocking the railway line adjacent to the station market of the university.
Students of Chittagong University and other educational institutions staged rallies and in procession paraded different roads in the port city from 5:30pm to 8:00pm.
Job aspirants and students have been demonstrating on their respective campuses by blocking highways and railways since July 1, to press home their demand of introduction of merit-based recruitment and abolition of quotas in government jobs.
