Staff Reporter :
Clashes and police firing left one person dead in Habiganj while a police constable was beaten to death in Khulna during clashes between protesters and law enforcement as tens of thousands of people from all walks of life streamed into the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital, demanding justice for innocent lives lost across the country.
A man was killed in Habiganj on Friday during clashes between protesters and police. The deceased, identified as Mostak Ahmed, 24, an electrician, was shot during the clashes in the afternoon.
The clashes erupted after Jummah prayers during a demonstration by the anti-discrimination student movement demanding justice for those killed and injured in recent violence and the release of those arrested during the protests.
The clashes occurred in front of the district Awami League office on Town Hall Road. At least 50 people were injured, and the district Awami League office was torched.
In Khulna, a police constable was killed during a clash between protesting students and law enforcers at the Gollamari intersection, Khulna Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mozammel Haque told journalists. The deceased, Constable Sumon Ghorami, was posted at Khulna Police Lines.
“The police member was beaten to death while thousands of protesters were crossing the Gollamari intersection in Khulna city,” Mozammel said.
At least 50 protesters were injured after police allegedly charged batons and fired rubber bullets to disperse a mass procession of quota protesters in front of Khulna University in the afternoon.
Witnesses reported that the students began a mass procession around noon, but police intervened, leading to a larger procession facing police resistance at the Khulna University gate, resulting in clashes and police firing live ammunition, tear gas, and rubber bullets. At least 18 injured were admitted to a 250-bed hospital.
In the capital, with resolute voices and clenched fists, protesting students, teachers, medical professionals, parents, guardians, and ordinary citizens gathered on Friday, shaking the earth and sky with thunderous slogans.
Despite the rainy weather, the relentless procession seemed endless, leaving no space vacant at the Central Shaheed Minar.
The atmosphere was charged with slogans as hundreds of law enforcers stood by while journalists documented the scene.
As part of the ongoing quota reform movement, which has evolved into a mass movement for justice, thousands of students and citizens staged protest marches in various areas of the capital, including Science Lab, Uttara, Aftabnagar, and Baitul Mukarram.
Protesters chanted slogans, including “Step down, Hasina.” Following the Jummah prayers at Baitul Mukarram Mosque, a procession marched towards Shahbagh via Paltan, Press Club, and Matsya Bhaban. Around 2 pm, when the group arrived at Shahbagh and attempted to head toward the TSC of Dhaka University, police intervened, leading to isolated clashes.
During the unrest, protesters tore down a Chhatra League banner in front of the National Museum in Shahbagh and some Awami League banners in the Matsya Bhaban area.
Another procession started from the Jatiya Press Club and marched towards Shaheed Minar. During the “Droho Jatra” march, demonstrators chanted slogans, including “Step down, Hasina,” demanding justice for the student killings.
Around 11 am, students from East West University in Aftabnagar, BRAC University in Mohakhali, and Rajuk Uttara Model School and College in Uttara Sector 6, participated in a mass rally, drenched in rain.
Most of the students wore identification cards from their respective institutions.
They demanded justice for those injured or killed in the conflict surrounding the quota movement and called for the release of arrested students.
Earlier, students announced a program called ‘Prayer and Student-Citizen Rally.’
After Friday prayers in mosques across the country, there would be prayers and visits to graves, as well as in temples, churches, and other places of worship.
Citizens from all levels were encouraged to participate spontaneously in this program for justice.
In protest against the killing and harassment of students involved in the student movement, doctors held a rally at the Central Shaheed Minar despite the rain.
Doctors and students from various medical and dental colleges participated to express their unity with the students’ demands.
They criticized the government’s focus on property over people’s lives and pledged to stand with the students to realize their just demands.
After the rally, doctors and medical students marched from Shaheed Minar to Dhaka Medical College.
The students demanded an end to mass arrests, justice for the July killings, the release of detained students and civilians, the lifting of curfews, the reopening of educational institutions, and the resignation of Sheikh Hasina’s government.
In the Uttara area of the capital, protesters clashed with law enforcers, leaving several people injured.
Reports indicate that police fired bullets and tear shells in the area to disperse the protesters.
Beyond the capital, demonstrators held mass processions and protests across the country.
In Lakshmipur, Chhatra League and Jubo League members attacked a student procession demanding quota reforms, injuring at least 15 people, including a journalist.
The attack occurred after Friday prayers when a mass procession began in the Chawkbazar area. Additional police forces have been deployed in the city.
A Jubo League activist, identified as Suman, was seen chasing students with a weapon.
In Chattogram, the anti-discrimination quota movement organized a mass procession following Friday prayers.
The pre-scheduled march began in front of the Andarkilla Shah Jame Mosque, attracting a large turnout of students and professionals.
In Feni, students and the public staged a road blockade and mass procession in the rain to protest the killing of students and demand the implementation of a nine-point agenda.
In Sylhet, a student and public procession faced police obstruction, with tear gas and sound grenades being fired.
Our Senior Staff Reporter from Kishoreganj adds: Protesting students brought out a procession from Shaheedi Mosque and marched through different roads of the town to press their nine-point demand.
From the rally, Avi Chowdhury, coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement in Kishoreganj, said, “If the nine-point demands of the students are not implemented, the students will not leave the streets.
Many of our brothers were killed indiscriminately. We want justice,” he added.