Police fire teargas shells to disperse the activists of Samajtantrik Chhatra Front at Shahbagh in Dhaka on Thursday. — Ali Hossain Mintu
At least 20 people were injured in a clash between police and a faction of Samajtantrik Chhatra Front, student wing of Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal, at Shahbagh in the city on Thursday noon.
The faction’s secretary, Nasir Uddin Prince, said 20 to 25 activists got injured and they were taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
Police arrested 20 activists at the spot, he claimed.
Earlier, the activists of Samajtantrik Chhatra Front held a rally at the altar of Aparejeya Bangla on the Dhaka University campus in the morning demanding scrap of 20 year strategy paper of the University Grants Commission, and the announcement of increasing tuition fees in higher education five times more.
After the rally, they started marching towards UGC office around 12:45pm to lay siege to it as part of their scheduled programme when police barred the activists.
The protesters and police chased each other.
Police fired rubber bullets, teargas shells, sprayed hot water from water cannon and charged batons to disperse the activists while they also pelted brickbats.
Vehicular movement came to a halt due to the clash causing intolerable public sufferings amid a hot summer day.
Meanwhile, Medical Assistant Training School students also clashed with police at Shahbagh.
The students blocked the road from Shahbagh stretch to TSC area.
The MATS students have been staging demonstration since April 26 to realise their four-point demands including higher education.
As part of a scheduled programme, they held demonstration at Central Shaheed Minar from 10:00am to 12:00pm.
Later, a group of students marched towards the Prime Minister’s Office around 12:30pm to submit a memorandum and police barred them.
At one stage, police and students chased each other leaving a female police member injured.
Source: New Age