At least 50 people, including students, were injured in sporadic clashes among the students of three colleges involving Kabi Nazrul College, Suhrawardy College and Dr Mahbubur Rahman Molla College in Dhaka’s Demra area on Monday.
Meanwhile, Kabi Nazrul College was declared closed for an indefinite period following the mayhem, according to an announcement made in a noticeboard of the college.
Earlier in the day, a clash erupted at Dr Mahbubur Rahman Molla College in Demra as the students of Kabi Nazrul College and Suhrawardy College carried out vandalism at the college over Sunday’s clash.
Students started gathering near Dr Mahbubur Rahman Molla College in the morning and carried out vandalism around 12 noon. They also looted valuables from the college.
Around 1 pm, the students of Dr Mahbubur Rahman Molla College appeared there and a chase and counter chase took place among them.
Later, they attacked each other, leaving 50 people injured. The whole area turned into a battlefield following the clash.
The injured were taken to different hospitals.
Among them, 30 were taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, said in-charge of the hospital police camp, Mohammad Faruk.
On information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.
Besides, six platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed in Jatrabari-Demra area on Monday following clash.
According to a media release of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), additional police have been deployed from Sutrapur to Demra area from 7 am following Sunday’s clash.
Police tried to control the situation peacefully, fearing it might take a different turn. Despite this, the agitating students engaged in chase and counter chase, attack and looting, it said.
At least 25 students were injured in the series of clashes in the area, said the release.
Meanwhile, rumours are being spread on social media claiming that two individuals died in the incident, which is completely false. DMP has urged everyone to refrain from such misinformation, it said.
On Sunday, students from 35 colleges near National Medical College Hospital vandalised Dhaka National Medical College and Hospital at Bakshibazar in Old Dhaka centering a student’s death in ‘wrong treatment’ at the hospital.
6 BGB platoons deployed in Jatrabari-Demra after student clashes
On November 16, Abhijit Halder, an HSC student of Demra’s Dr Mahbubur Rahman Molla College, was admitted to the medicine department of the hospital with dengue. He died on November 18.
After that students vandalised the hospital alleging negligence in treatment at the hospital on Sunday.
They alleged that students from Kabi Nazrul and Suhrawardy Colleges supported by National Medical College attacked them.
Later, students from 35 colleges clashed with the students of Kabi Nazrul and Suhrawardy Colleges and vandlised property of the two colleges on Sunday, leaving at least 20 people injured.
The 35 colleges included Dr. Mahbubur Rahman Molla College, Dhaka College, Dhaka Ideal College, City College, Giyasuddin College, Government Tolaram College, Imperial College, Borhanuddin College, Science College, Dhaniya College, Lalbagh Government College, Udayan College, Adamjee, Notre Dame, Rajarbagh College, Nur Mohammad, Munshi Abdur Rouf College, Siddheswari College, Green Line Polytechnic, Dhaka Polytechnic, Mahbubur Rahman Institute of Science and Technology, and others from the capital.
However, Kabi Nazrul College's unit general secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal Kawser Hossain denied any involvement in the incident. "We are students, and we support students. We did not attack anyone," he said.
Regarding the vandalism, Suhrawardy College Islamic Studies department teacher Tariqul Islam said, "I sent them back first, but they returned with a group. They stole many computers and destroyed them, even took rifles from the NCC.
They vandalised all 17 departments and even damaged four motorcycles owned by a teacher."
Suhrawardy College Vice-Principal Dr Farida Yasmin said, "We were assured by the principal that nothing would happen, but the attack occurred. The entire college was attacked, and even my room was ransacked."