Three top officials of the interim government were confined for over nine hours on Tuesday by students of Milestone School and College in Dhaka’s Uttara, as protests over Monday’s deadly Air Force jet crash escalated.
Law Adviser Asif Nazrul, Education Adviser Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar, and Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam were trapped inside Academic Building No. 7 of the institution from around 10:30 AM until shortly after 7:30 PM. They were finally escorted out under heavy police protection after multiple failed evacuation attempts.
The students launched the protest following the crash of a Bangladesh Air Force training fighter jet into the school compound on Monday afternoon, which claimed the lives of at least 31 people — many of them children — and injured 165 others, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Although the government announced it had accepted the students’ six-point demand — which includes publishing the full list of deceased and injured, compensation for victims, a public apology, and reforms to flight training safety — the demonstrations continued into the evening. Protesters blocked all exits, chanting slogans and accusing the authorities of concealing the true scale of the disaster.
Despite multiple attempts by law enforcement to escort the officials out, protesters physically surrounded their vehicles and demanded full transparency and accountability before allowing their departure.
Sources present at the scene described a tense standoff, with riot police deployed and on high alert outside the school premises. The students’ determination to seek justice and truth resonated widely, with social media flooded with messages of solidarity and anger over the state’s response.
The prolonged confinement of senior government officials underlines the depth of public frustration and distrust, with growing calls for an independent inquiry into the incident and greater accountability from the armed forces and civil administration.
While the advisers have now left the premises, the students have vowed to continue their movement until all demands are fully implemented and the victims receive justice.
LND/SAE
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