In addition, charges pertaining to fights, assaults, and arson in many regions of the nation, including the capital, which is the epicenter of the quota reform campaign, are resulting in the arrest of students.
In the 12 days from July 16 to July 28 to Sunday, at least 253 students were arrested in 18 districts, including Dhaka. Students from upper secondary levels are among them.
The development was confirmed by the police, jail officials, and the families of the students who were imprisoned.
Only those accused of being part in the violence, according to the police, are being detained. A variety of violent confrontations captured on camera provide the basis for the arrests of the accused individuals.
16 students from various parts of the capital have reportedly been detained and taken to jail by the court as of yesterday afternoon, according to sources close to the proceedings.
In addition, 126 students were taken into custody in Chattogram, 20 in Kushtia, 16 in Sylhet, 8 in Bogura, 15 in Madaripur, 10 in Rajshahi, 6 in Magura, 5 in Satkhira, 2 in Moulvibazar, 4 in Jamalpur, 6 in the Dhaka district (outside the city limits), 4 in Naogaon, 4 in Joypurhat, 3 in Nilphamari, 2 in Sunamganj, 3 in Faridpur, 1 in Chuadanga, and 2 in Narayanganj.
According to various sources, among the arrested students, nine are Chhatra Shibir leaders-activists and eight are from Chhatra Dal.
Students have been accused in at least 16 cases related to various programs of the quota reform movement. Among them, the police have registered a case specifically mentioning the names of 20 students of the capital’s Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University. In another case, the names of 15 students of Rajshahi University and their department have been mentioned in the list of accused.
In addition, two other cases at the Rupnagar police station in the capital have resulted in the accusation of between 1,000 and 150,000 people, including anonymous students of the private university BUBT (Bangladesh University of Business and Technology). Students from Jahangirnagar University who have not been recognized have been charged in another case at the Ashulia police station in Dhaka.
In addition, eleven cases pertaining to various student demonstrations at Dhaka University were filed at the Shahbag police station in the capital between July 12 and July 21 during the quota reform movement. In these incidents, protesters who remain anonymous have been charged.
In Chattogram, there are more student arrests
Prothom Alo independently verified from several police and jail sources that at least 126 students were taken into custody in Chattogram City and District between July 16 and July 27.
Students from the following institutions have been arrested: Baitush Sharaf Adarsha Kamil Madrasa, Subhaniya Alia Madrasa, Tanjimul Ummam Madrasa, Government City College, Chittagong College, Haji Muhammad Mohsin College, Chittagong Polytechnic Institute, International Islamic University, and Chittagong University. Fahim Uddin, a CUET student, was one of them; the court gave him a one-day remand yesterday so that he could be questioned in a case filed under the Special Powers Act at the Kotwali police station in Chattogram city. His arrest occurred on July 19.
Yesterday, Ramzan Sheikh, a Chittagong University student, was brought before the court from prison. He admitted to Prothom Alo in front of the police that numerous students from several universities, including CU, are in prison.
On July 16, a total of thirteen pupils from the Doublemooring police station’s Baitush Sharaf Adarsha Kamil Madrasa at Dhaniala Para were taken into custody.
Hafiz Ullah, his elder brother and aspiring lawyer, asserted that Aziz Ullah is not active in politics. After attending Qawmi Madrasa, he informed Prothom Alo that his brother is currently enrolled in Aliya Madrasa’s Fazil program. He doesn’t know why his sibling was taken into custody.
No students were charged in the cases, according to Kazi Mohammad Tareq Aziz, additional deputy commissioner (media) of the Chattogram Metropolitan Police, who spoke with Prothom Alo. Police are not detaining innocent persons; instead, they are only detaining the actual accused who was involved in the incidents.
But, anyone who turns out not to be participating in the probe will have their case dismissed.
16 pupils from various regions Dhaka are incarcerated
There are currently 16 students in jail who were detained from the Dhaka metropolitan region in connection with various violent incidents related to the quota movement. Six of them are reportedly high school pupils.
Six high school students have been committed to jail in separate incidents involving the Jatrabari police station, two instances involving the Mirpur police station, one case involving the Shahbagh police station, and one case involving the Uttara Paschim police station, according to attorneys and court sources.
In addition, a case filed with the Khilgaon police station resulted in the arrest of Habibur Rahman, a student at Khilgaon Model College. In one instance, Zahirul Khan, a postgraduate student at Mirpur Bangla College, was detained in the Kafrul police station, while Safayet Hossain, a student at Saic Nursing College, was arrested in a case involving the Mirpur police station. Yasin Bhuiyan and Harun Or Rashid from Dhaka Central College, as well as Rabbi from Mohammadpur Central College, are the three students detained in the case at the New Market police station.
Lawyers’ sources said that Mobasser Mojahid Rafi, a law student at Manarat International University, was arrested in a Jatrabari police station case; Apu Roy, a student in Northern University’s English department, was arrested in a Mirpur police station case; Tanjidur Rahman, a student at Daffodil University, was arrested in an Uttara Paschim police station case; and Al Amin, a student at Dhaka College, was jailed in a Jatrabari police station case.
In addition, Dhaka district police sources reported that up till yesterday, six students had been taken into custody outside the DMP area. According to the police, each of them is active in Chhatra Shibir politics.
