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Students clash with riot police during a protest against a quota system for government jobs, in Dhaka. (File Photo/AP)
The protesters are demanding the abolition of a quota system that reserves up to 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence
Anti-quota protests in Bangladesh took a violent turn after student protesters stormed a jail in Narsingdi district Friday and freed hundreds of inmates before setting it on fire. According to Dhaka-based newspaper Prothom Alo, the death toll in the capital reached 50 on Friday morning. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has banned all kinds of rallies and processions in the city.
The protesters are demanding the abolition of a quota system that reserves up to 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence.
The protests are being led by Students Against Discrimination, a coalition of student unions barring the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BSL) – the youth wing of Hasina’s Awami League.
Bangladesh Law Minister Anisul Huq said the government was willing to hold talks with the protesters, to which, the demonstrators stated they were ready as well to take up the offer, AP reported.
However, protest co-ordinator Nahid Islam was quoted by Reuters as saying, “Discussions and opening fire do not go hand in hand… We cannot trample over dead bodies to hold discussions”.
The Federal Minister further said that mobile internet has been temporarily suspended in the country in the wake of the protests.
Meanwhile, amid countrywide protests in Bangladesh, tourists have started coming to India through the Integrated Check Post Akhaura in Tripura’s Agartala.
“The matter is intensified in Bangladesh. All the students have come out to protest. We demand to stop the quota system. I want the problem to be solved very soon. Our demand should be accepted. And the students who have lost their lives, we are with them and they must get proper compensation,” a student from Bangladesh, Anik Pal told ANI.
