look news india
Dhaka, July 30 (HS). The Bangladesh government on Monday admitted for the first time that 150 people have died across the country during violent protests by students against the reservation system. Recently, the government had to call the army to suppress protests against reservation in jobs in Bangladesh.
The protests that began in universities and colleges earlier this month soon turned into a widespread movement against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government. A large number of people, including policemen, have been injured in these violent protests and important government installations have been damaged.
“The government has decided that there will be a nationwide mourning tomorrow… People have been requested to wear black badges to condole the deaths (during the violence),” Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain told the media after a meeting chaired by Hasina at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). Mosques, temples, pagodas (Buddhist places of worship) and churches across the country have been requested to hold prayers for the departed and the injured, he said.
The top bureaucrat said Home Minister Asad-uz-Zaman Khan Kamal presented a report about the overall situation at the meeting and confirmed that 150 people had died in clashes across the country. The announcement came on a day when troops of the army and paramilitary forces were patrolling the streets of the capital Dhaka, and police equipped with anti-riot equipment were also deployed. A faction of protesting students has called for a fresh round of protests on Sunday night.
The group has called for fresh protests while six of its coordinators have announced the withdrawal of the demonstration, a decision the protesters said was taken under pressure in police custody.
Six student leaders, who withdrew from the protest, told the media on Sunday night that the government had accepted their demands after the Supreme Court's verdict on the reservation system.
In compliance with the court order, the government issued a gazette notification stating that 93 per cent of the jobs would be available to candidates on the basis of merit.
The Prothom Alo newspaper reported 210 deaths, including 113 children. Most of the others who lost their lives were teenagers and young people. The newspaper said at least 9,000 people have been arrested across the country since the beginning of the unrest.