Bangladesh forms committee to investigate student protest violence

DHAKA: The government of Bangladesh has established a judicial committee led by a Supreme Court judge to investigate the violence during student protests over the quota system in civil services, which resulted in the deaths of 197 people, reported Anadolu Agency.

According to Bernama, those responsible for the turmoil in the country since last week will be punished, affirmed Mohammad A Arafat, Bangladesh’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting, speaking to international media in the capital city of Dhaka.

Since Saturday, the Bangladesh government has imposed curfews and deployed troops nationwide to quell the protests.

However, on Wednesday, the curfew was temporarily lifted for several hours during the daytime to allow the public to purchase daily necessities.

At least 197 people were killed and thousands more injured during the protests that began on July 16.

However, the government has yet to release official casualty figures.

The government is currently attempting to determine the actual number of fatalities and injuries, he said.

Arafat alleged that “third parties” were involved in the protests that caused turmoil across the country.

In response to questions about whether the government would take action if the Bangladesh Student League were found guilty of attacking protesting students, thus sparking protests that spread to universities, he declined to name any organizations but assured that anyone involved would be punished.

Arafat, who held a press conference inside the government-owned Bangladesh Television (BTV) building, showed journalists rooms and equipment destroyed due to acts of treachery on July 18.

“This looks like a war zone.

“We believe there were no students involved, but criminals who committed these acts,” he said.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan blamed opposition parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), as well as some militants, for the violence during the unrest.

“We will identify them one by one. They will face the law. We will not step back to ensure it happens,” the minister told reporters in Dhaka.

Over 800 people were detained in Dhaka in the past 24 hours, and more than 3,000 nationwide in connection with the violence during the protests, police said.

However, local media reported that the majority of those detained were members of opposition parties.

Last Tuesday, student movement coordinators at a press conference in Dhaka pledged to restore peace and reopen campuses nationwide within 48 hours.

In response, Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury stated that the current situation was not conducive to reopening educational institutions.

Meanwhile, Telecommunications Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak informed reporters that broadband internet services would be restored nationwide on a trial basis Wednesday night, followed by mobile internet in the following week.

Social media remained inaccessible until Wednesday, with Palak blaming major social media platforms for failing to comply with national laws and allowing the spread of false information leading to violence.