Bangladesh: At least 4 killed amid protest over job quota, over 100 injured

At least four people, including three students, were killed and over 100 others were injured in Bangladesh after protesters demanding reforms of the quota system in government jobs clashed with police in major cities, on July 16.

As the situation escalated, authorities called out the paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) troops in four major cities after hundreds of policemen in riot gear overnight fanned out in public university campuses across the country.

Clashes erupted on July 15 as activists of the ruling Awami League’s student front confronted the protestors who insisted that the existing quota system was largely debarring the enrolment of meritorious students in government services.

According to media reports, the violence killed a university student in northeastern Rangpur, one in Dhaka and two people in southeastern Chattogram, one being a student and another a pedestrian.

The protestors blockaded highways and railway routes in four major cities of central Dhaka, northwestern Rajshahi, southwestern Khulna and the major port city Chattogram.

Meanwhile, students of the Dhaka University took the lead in the latest one-week-long protests for recruitment in first- and second-class government jobs, demanding seats to be filled based on talent reforming the existing quota system.

The protestors said they were staging peaceful demonstrations on Monday at two public universities in Dhaka and its outskirts when they were attacked by student activists from the ruling party armed with sticks, rocks, machetes and Molotov cocktails.

Under the existing system, 30 per cent of jobs are reserved for children and grandchildren of 1971 Liberation War veterans, 10 per cent for administrative districts, 10 per cent for women, five per cent for ethnic minority groups and one per cent for physically handicapped people.

The student protest appears to be the first major demonstration against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government since she won a fourth straight term in January.

Earlier, Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry released a statement stating that no one had died during the student protests. It said, "Use of unverified information to make such baseless claims can fuel violence and undermine Bangladesh government's efforts to maintain a peaceful environment to allow non-violent protests or movement."

"Freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are "cornerstones of our democracy, and the government remains steadfast to uphold those rights of the citizens while also safeguarding the public property and order," it added.