A confrontation broke out between students of Rajshahi University (RU) and police after officers attempted to detain several students following a scheduled programme on campus on Thursday.
Students alleged that two RU students were taken by law enforcers, escalating tensions on the campus.
Witnesses reported that around 11:15am, hundreds of students from various schools and colleges gathered at the Shaheed Buddhijibi Chattar of the university. They were set to hold a silent procession, their faces tied with red cloth as a form of protest.
At one point, teachers joined the students in solidarity. The procession moved through various parts of the campus, concluding back at the Shaheed Buddhijibi Chattar.
As the teachers were preparing to leave, plainclothes police officers armed with weapons attempted to detain two students. This led to a scuffle involving students, teachers, and police. The intervention of the teachers ultimately forced the police to release the detained students.
Hemayetul Islam, additional police commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, said students engaged in a heated argument with the police. He confirmed that some students were called for questioning and subsequently released.
Barishal University
Meanwhile, Police picked up 12 students of Barishal University Thursday noon as they tried to gather on the campus to observe the "Remembering Our Heroes" programme announced by Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
University coordinator of the platform Sujoy Shuvo and co-coordinator M H Tamal were among them.
AR Mukul, officer-in-charge (OC) of Bandar police station, said they took the students into custody for security purposes.
Since the establishment of the university, although there was no committee of the BCL on the campus, a section of the BCL activists took positions on the campus. They said they took position so that no one could create anarchy on the campus.
The Anti-Discrimination Students’ Movement announced the nationwide campaign titled "Remembering Our Heroes," on Wednesday in response to the mass killings, widespread arrests, attacks, cases of enforced disappearances, and the assaults on teachers that occurred in connection with the quota reform movement across the country.
It also demanded an investigation by the United Nations and fulfilling the nine-point demands of the students.
