Dhaka, Oct 13 (IANS) Several people, including journalists, were injured in Bangladesh on Monday after a violent clash broke out between students of Dhaka University (DU) and Dhaka College in the capital’s Nilkhet and New Market areas, local media reported.

The unrest erupted over a dispute involving the setting up of shops on the footpath in front of DU’s Shahnewaz Hostel, which subsequently escalated into a chase and counter-chase between the two sides.

Citing eye witnesses, Bangladesh’s leading daily, The Business Standard, reported that both groups hurled bricks and stones, creating a chaotic scene in the area.

Reports suggest that explosions occurred amid the violence, while the DU students demanded better security, and police intervened to restore order.

Confirming the development, Mohammad Jahangir, Assistant Commissioner of the New Market Zone of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said, “An altercation broke out, leading to the clash. Due to inadequate police presence at night, additional forces had to be called in. The situation was brought under control around 2:30 am.”

Regarding the explosions that were reported, the senior police official said that it has not been confirmed whether the explosives were crude bombs.

Following the incident, students of Shahnewaz hostel gathered outside the DU Vice-Chancellor’s residence, calling for security and raising slogans including, “Cocktails in our hall, while the administration sleeps.”

“Around 1:00 am, some Dhaka College students tried to evict the shops in front of the hostel gate and vandalised a few. When our students protested, they attacked us and later returned with more people, pelting brick chips at the hostel and setting off three explosions in front of the dormitory,” Bangladesh’s leading newspaper The Daily Star quoted Mehraz Zaman Hira, a resident of Shahnewaz hostel, as saying.

“Dhaka College students tried to occupy the space in front of our hall by setting up shops. When we resisted, they attacked us indiscriminately and confined us for about three hours. They hurled bottles, bricks, and three crude bombs. We got no support from the DU administration,” said another DU student.

Bangladesh has been gripped by numerous protests and extreme lawlessness since the democratically elected government of the Awami League, led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was overthrown during violent protests last year.

–IANS

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