At least ten people including a policeman were injured in a clash between police and quota reform protesters at Cheragi Hill intersection in Chattogram port city on Monday.
Witnesses said a group of protesters under the banner of anti-discrimination student’s movement, numbering 20-30, took up positions at Cheragi Hill intersection in the afternoon and chanted slogans.
At one stage, police tried to pick up two protesters in their police prison van but other protesters successfully obstructed them and took to the street.
Later police hurled two sound grenades to disperse them, triggering a chase and counter chase that left ten people including a police man injured.
Police also charged batons to disperse the protesters.
Mosharraf Hossain, a sub-inspector of Kotwali Police Station, suffered wounds to his eye. Police claimed that the policeman was injured by the crude bomb hurled by the miscreants.
The injured students include Mohammad Emon, second year student of Engineering Department of Southern University, Azmain Karim Nihal, a class XI student of Bakolia Government College and Julhaz Hossain, a degree student of Gachbaria Degree College and Nazrul Islam, student of Chattogram Law College.
The protesters said they gathered in the area protesting what they claimed over ‘disappearance, killing and false cases’ following the quota reform protest across the county.
However, they tried to gather in the Jamalkhan area around 3 pm but police removed them, forcing them to gather at Cheragi Hill intersection.
The clash spread to the Old Biman office on Love Lane.
SM Obaidul Haque, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station, said additional police have been deployed to maintain law and order situation in the area.
The protesters attacked police and those who were arrested will go under securitisation, he said.
Kazi Md Tarek Aziz, deputy commissioner of Chattagram Metropolitan Police (media), said some miscreants from Teribazar-Andarkilla joined with the protesting students and exploded crude bombs by which a policeman got injured.
He was first taken to a private hospital and then referred to an eye specialist. He will be taken to Dhaka for better treatment.