By Xinhua
Dhaka : The Bangladesh government Wednesday closed universities and colleges in the six divisional headquarters, including capital Dhaka, in the wake of escalating student unrest.
The students were asked to vacate the hostels by Wednesday night.
The military-backed caretaker government declared an indefinite curfew in capital Dhaka and five other divisional headquarters from Wednesday night.
The students have been protesting beating of Dhaka University students by the military Monday and demanded an apology from Army Chief Gen Moeen U Ahmed for the incident. They also demanded withdrawal of the state of emergency imposed on Jan 11.
Three days of violence left one person killed and about 600 injured, mostly students and police in Dhaka and other major cities. Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed chaired a high-level emergency meeting at his office earlier Wednesday afternoon to review the situation.
Army Chief General Moeen U Ahmed and chiefs of different forces and agencies attended the meeting.
Law and information Advisor Mainul Husein said the curfew was imposed to maintain peace and protect public life and property.
A three-wheeler rickshaw puller in northwestern city of Rajshahi was killed during fierce clashes between Rajshahi University students and riot police.
The students’ protests erupted Monday when some army men beat up students and humiliated a teacher of Dhaka University during a football match. In view of the fierce street agitation, the government wound up an army camp, established after the state of emergency was declared, from the campus early Wednesday.
However, the students gave a call for a strike at educational institutions Wednesday demanding apology from the army chief for Monday’s incident and withdrawal of the state of emergency.
In capital Dhaka, police fired barrage of tear gas canisters and rubber bullets to disperse violent students and mob at Dhaka University and old Dhaka. The protesters set afire several buses and cars turning a area into a virtual battlefield.
Similar reports of student unrest were also received here from some other districts in central, northern and southeastern Bangladesh.