Protesting students have returned to the streets of Dhaka in Bangladesh, defying a ban on public rallies after violent clashes left dozens dead.
Symbolic funeral processions were planned to honor at least 25 people killed on Thursday, raising the total death toll to 31, according to BBC Bangla. The exact number of casualties is difficult to verify due to an extensive communications shutdown, with mobile internet and telephone lines reportedly down.
Authorities imposed the shutdown in an effort to quell the protests, which demand the government scrap a job quota favoring families of veterans from the 1971 independence war.
In response, bus and train services have been halted, and large numbers of police in riot gear are patrolling the streets of Dhaka. Schools and universities across Bangladesh have been closed until further notice.
Despite these measures, protesters vowed to continue their “Complete Shutdown,” blockading roads across the city.
On Friday, students chanting “merit, merit” and “we won’t let the blood that has been shed of our brothers go in vain” were joined by parents outside Dhaka University. They argue that the quota system is discriminatory and are calling for recruitment based on merit.
A march organised by Islamist parties was met with tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun grenades.
The main opposition Bangladesh National Party has also called for protests, reporting that one of its senior leaders, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed, had been taken into custody. Police did not provide reasons for Rizvi’s arrest.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Shafiqul Islam said the authorities decided to ban rallies to protect lives and property following Thursday’s violence. Police reported that 100 officers were injured and several vehicles parked outside government buildings were set on fire.
The unrest has spread beyond Dhaka, with 26 districts reporting incidents. Protesters who occupied and set fire to the state broadcaster BTV had vacated by Friday morning, though the channel had not resumed broadcasting.
A senior reporter told BBC Bangla that the newsroom, studio, and canteen were all damaged in Thursday’s fire.
Chioma Kalu
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