Dhaka, five other Bangladesh cities under indefinite curfew following student protests

Bangladesh capital Dhaka and five other cities in the country have been placed under an indefinite curfew since Wednesday evening after violent student protests disrupted normal life over the previous three days.

Dhaka, Aug.23 : Bangladesh capital Dhaka and five other cities in the country have been placed under an indefinite curfew since Wednesday evening after violent student protests disrupted normal life over the previous three days.

According to a Government spokesman and political analysts, the ongoing protests pose a serious challenge to the interim government led by Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed.

Trouble started at Dhaka University following a troop assault on students after they had protested against the presence of soldiers at a football match in the university's gymnasium compound.

Troops have been based in the complex since January, when the interim administration took power after months of political violence in the country.

Fahim Munaim, the spokesman for the caretaker government, said universities and colleges in six cities have been ordered closed for an indefinite period. All eight private television channels have stopped showing footage of the violence and mobile telephone networks disconnected after the curfew came into effect.

There was no official comment concerning the disruption of the six cell phone operators serving around 20 million users.

Police and witnesses said a rickshaw puller was killed after he was caught in clashes between police and students at a university in the northwestern city of Rajshahi earlier on Wednesday. Witnesses said at least 100 students were injured. Another 100 people were injured in Dhaka when riot police fired rubber bullets and teargas.

On Tuesday, the army camp was withdrawn from Dhaka University. The troops started leaving the campus at about 10:45 p.m. Ten army trucks left the campus at the time while clashes continued on the campus and in some areas near by till 11:15 p.m.

Over 250 students were injured during the agitation, as the students fought pitched battle with the police for two days.

The agitation spilled outside the campus in Dhaka and over to other campuses, where students demanded that army camps should be withdrawn from all educational institutions.

The government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the clashes and apologised for the incidents.

Close to 100 vehicles have been damaged in and around the campus. An army vehicle was set on fire between Shahbagh and the Kantaban crossing. The students also set fire to seven other vehicles on the campus and on the Mirpur Road between Nilkhet and the Science Lab, witnesses said.

According to a New Age report, the university authorities have suspended all examinations scheduled for a week.

Earlier this week, demonstrators burnt effigies of Fakhruddin Ahmed and army chief General Moeen U Ahmed at Aparajeya Bangla on the university campus.

ANI