The demonstration was the first protest by the teachers of the country's highest academic institution against the current caretaker government's actions, which had come to power in January and soon declared a state of emergency banning all protests against its actions.

The DU teachers will observe the five-hour work abstention till 1:00pm today protesting the treatment of the two ex-premiers of the country by the military backed caretaker government, however all examinations will be out of the purview of the protest.

The teachers are also protesting the curbing of citizens' rights in the name of the state of emergency, and demanding resignation of Law Adviser Mainul Hosein accusing him of breaching the oath of office by doing favours to some specific groups.

Many of the teachers yesterday alleged that they were quizzed by members of intelligence agencies for taking part in the protest while others including the general secretary of Dhaka University Teachers' Association (Duta) received threats over the phone from anonymous callers.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), student wing of AL, calls for a day-long strike at all educational institutions across the country today protesting Hasina's arrest. The DU unit of the student organisation held a brief protest on the campus yesterday dodging strong vigilance of the law enforcers including different intelligence agencies.

A huge number of police and members of different intelligence agencies have been deployed on the campus since the arrest of Hasina on July 16. Police also raided four residential halls for males in the early hours of July 17, but left without rounding up anyone. Khaleda Zia has also been under a virtual house arrest recently following a tense drama of the government's failed attempt to oust her from the country.

Many of the teachers of DU yesterday were seen in classes and in teachers' lounges wearing black ribbons. Most of the pro-AL Blue Panel and pro-left Pink Panel teachers wore black ribbons, but a few others, mostly loyal to BNP and Jamaat, kept themselves away from the protest.

"Police quizzed some of our colleagues asking if we had the right to hold such demonstrations when a state of emergency is on in the country," said Anwar Hossain, general secretary of Duta. He said the law enforcers wanted them to withdraw the call for today's protest.

"The decision to protest against the government's actions was taken by the university teachers unanimously and we are all in it together," he said adding that the teachers will boycott classes today. He however said the exchange with the law enforcers was not necessarily an outright interrogation, rather it was like a discussion.

The Duta general secretary said he received an anonymous phone call threatening to kidnap his 'near and dear ones'.

"An intelligence agency member stopped me in front of the Arts Building and asked about the protest," said a teacher of the department of mass communication and journalism, who was wearing a black ribbon. "The agency member wanted to know about tomorrow's work abstention programme," he said.

Professor AK Azad Chowdhury, former vice-chancellor of the university, with close ties to AL, was also among the teachers who were questioned. He said some police officers came to his university flat and asked him about the Duta move.

"Teachers, irrespective of their political choices, have observed the protest and it was a spontaneous response to the present government's actions," said Prof Harun-or-Rashid, dean of the faculty of social sciences.

He also faced questions from law enforcers and said police asked him if they could withdraw the call for the protest programme. "But, we told them it's a protest of all teachers and we will observe it," he said.

Duta President Prof Sadrul Amin said he personally did not support the protest, but he endorsed it as the chief of the teachers association. Prof Sadrul Amin, a pro-BNP teacher, was not present at the Arts Building during the protest. "I did not go to the department as I am not feeling well," he said.

Meanwhile, a number of students talking to The Daily Star expressed their mixed reactions over the teachers' protest programmes.

Some students said whatever protest programmes the teachers adopt, they should be very careful in making sure that the students do not become the hostages, while another group of students saw the teachers' agitation as rightful.

A fourth year student of the department of international relations said, "Teachers have their rights to hold demonstrations, but we the students want to see the university running normally."

Another student of the philosophy department said, "When teachers of the country's highest educational institution take a stand against or in favour of something, I think they take the decision for proper reasons."

Meanwhile, the DU unit of BCL yesterday morning held a brief demonstration at the business studies faculty of the university. Witnesses said about 10 to 15 BCL activists around 9:30am led by its President Sohel Rana Tipu and General Secretary Sazzad Saqib Badsha chanted slogans demanding release of Hasina and in favour of their today's strike.

Within minutes police and intelligence branch members rushed to the spot prompting the demonstrating BCL activists to spread out inside the faculty building.