Police and BCS candidates engaged in a chase and counter-chase near the Shahbagh intersection on Tuesday night, leaving around 30 people injured, including the Shahbagh Police Station officer-in-charge.
As of 6:30pm, the clash was continuing.
Earlier at noon, the demonstrators launched a march towards the CA’s office Jamuna, demanding a deferral of the 27 November written exams for the 47th BCS batch.
Police blocked them at Shahbagh. The agitators sat down at the Shahbagh but gave law enforcers until 5pm to withdraw their barricades.
Around 4:30pm, police sensed trouble, and moved to disperse the protesters, leading to the clash. Other reports claim the protesters attempted to forcibly breach police barricades, prompting police to resist.
Police used water cannons and sound grenades to disperse the protesters, who responded with brickbats.
Multiple police personnel, including Shahbagh Police Station Officer-in-Charge Khaled Mansur, was injured with the brick chips, Khaled Mansur told reporters.
Some protesters claimed 25 of them were injured when police charged on them “without provocations.”
The protesters regrouped at TSC, and Dhaka University Central Library around 6:15pm, Khaled Mansur said, adding tensions continue in the area. They later proceeded to the Institute of Fine Arts on the Shahbagh-TSC road, which remains suspended to traffic, the officer noted.
The protesters demand a deferral of the exams to take adequate preparations. Earlier BCS batches got six months to one year for completing exam preparations, but this time, authorities have given them shorter time, they allege.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) has contested the claims, saying the written exam schedule was announced 3 June, giving them six months to prepare as currently being demanded. The allegations that the examinees have got only two months to prepare is not true, PSC officials have said.
PSC also notes that only a section of the candidates is calling for written exam deferral, while others are continuing studies and have even submitted memorandums rejecting postponement.
LND/SAE
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