Students in Bangladesh have demanded a release of the detained students after ending the violent protests against the government job quotas. Student leaders have on April 12, 2018 demanded a release of the students who were arrested during the violent protests against the government job quotas. The protests were taken back after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina assured at the Parliament that the system where a certain groups are guaranteed a number of jobs, would be abolished.
The Prime Minister said that the quota policy does not need to exist but also criticized the students for misusing the internet to spread rumours and blocking roads and highways. Student Leader Rashed Khan, while speaking at the Dhaka University told the reporters, “We decided to postpone our protest by honouring the prime minister’s speech. We request the government to publish the gazette (of abolishing the policy) as soon as possible and to free the detained students”.
Moreover, the students have also demanded that the security forces who fired teargas and fire rubber bullets at the protesting students, must be punished. Thousands of students have been staging protests and blocking mains roads in the cities since April 8, 2018. The protests were staged across the cities and had proved to be the biggest challenge for Prime Minister Hasina during her reign.
Several students were detained, but the official number of students detained was not revealed. More than 100 protestors were injured in a clash with the police on April 8, 2018. The protestors had demanded a share of the top government positions that were set aside for the minority groups reduced significantly. The fact that 30 percent of the government positions are reserved for the descendants of veterans from the independence war of Bangladesh in 1971, irked the protestors. The protestors had caused major disruptions in the cities like Kushtia, Barisal, Khulna, Comilla, Mymensingh and Gopalganj.
Photo Credits: Urdupoint
