Troops, inset, late last night pull out of the temporary army camp at Dhaka University gymnasium. Students, right, in front of Sir AF Rahman Hall of the university light candles in the shape of "BYE" welcoming their withdrawal. Photo: STAR

Much of Dhaka city turned into a battleground yesterday as students continued clashing with police for the second day in the fallout from the beating of three Dhaka University (DU) students by army personnel Monday evening.

Thousands of students came out of their dormitories and fought pitched battles with police on and around the campus for hours, leaving at least 150 injured. They went on the rampage, demanding immediate removal of an army camp from DU. At least three vehicles--two passenger buses and a pickup--were set ablaze while more than a hundred were vandalised at New Market, Shahbagh, Palashi, Science Laboratory Crossing, and Bangabazar areas.

Late at night, a group of unidentified youth attacked the Dhanmondi residence of Education Adviser Ayub Quadri. But nobody was reported injured.

Demonstrations raged past the midnight on the DU campus. Chase and counter-chase between police and the students were on in front of Sir AF Rahman Hall and at the Palashi intersection as of filing this report at 1:00am.

Violence that subsided with the police leaving the campus at around 1:30pm started afresh soon after a student was beaten up in front of Nilkhet police camp at around 6:30pm. As the news spread, hundreds of students burst into fierce demonstrations.

Roads in the area became a battlefield just half an hour after the government announced army withdrawal from the campus. Police lobbed tear gas shells inside two female dormitories--Kuwait Moitree Hall and Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall--at around 7:45pm to prevent the female students joining the demonstrations.

Earlier in the day, the protests gathered momentum as students from other educational institutions including BUET, Dhaka College, Jagannath University, Titumir College, Government Kabi Nazrul College, and Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University took to the streets. Fighting leapt up to Satmasjid Road in the evening.

The protest fever raged through the country with students of Jahangirnagar University, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet, Mymensingh Agricultural University, Islamic University at Kushtia, Carmichael University College in Rangpur, Brojomohon College in Barisal and a few other institutions joining in.

Late in the afternoon, the government decided to remove the army camp from the DU campus and apologised for Monday's incident. But that could not douse the anger of students as the violence continued into the night.

A strike has been called at educational institutions across the country for today. Meanwhile, the DU authorities have postponed all scheduled examinations till August 28 as the indefinite strike called in protest at the police and army excess went on.

In yesterday's clash police fired several hundred tear gas canisters and students responded by pelting stones and brickbats.

STUDENTS' FIVE-POINT DEMAND
The agitating students announced a five-point demand at a press conference at the Madhur Canteen yesterday afternoon. Those include withdrawal of army and police camps from educational institutions across the country within the next 24 hours, punishment to the culprits in the Monday evening's and the following incidents, a public apology from army chief Gen Moeen U Ahmed, treatment and compensation for the wounded in the last two days' violence, and guarantee of a democratic environment throughout the country.

Expressing solidarity with the students, the Dhaka University Teachers Association too has demanded withdrawal of the army camp within 12:00 noon today.

VC'S PRESS BRIEFING
DU acting Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof AFM Yusuf Haider met Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed at around 3:00pm. Later in the evening, addressing a press briefing at his office he said the government has expressed regret for the untoward incidents and pledged to take action against the army men responsible for the assault on students and teachers.

The government also assured the VC of bearing the medical expenses and compensation for the injured students.

A judicial probe body would investigate the sequence of events over the last two days to find out the persons responsible, he added. "As soon as we get a list of the arrestee students, we will act to have them free," said Prof Haider, also Pro-VC of the university.

He assured that students who took part in the demonstrations would not be subject to any harassment in future. He appealed for calm as he thinks the demands have already been met.

FIGHTING ON AND AROUND CAMPUS
Students began pouring out of the halls including the female dormitories since early in the morning. By 10:00am, the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) was packed full of students armed with sticks and stones. As they attempted to march towards the army camp in the university playground, police intercepted them on the road near Shamsunnahar Hall.

Police fired around 50 tear gas canisters to disperse the procession while the protesters answered with stones and bricks.

After about half an hour of clash, the students moved towards the VC's residence and held a rally there. The Pro-VC, proctor and some teachers at that time approached the agitating students and asked them to calm down.

At one stage of the demonstrations, a group of students brought a run-down pickup and attempted to pull down the huge iron gate at the entrance of the VC's residence. Policemen posted there fired tear gas shells leading to another bout of clash.

At least 20 students were injured during the fight that spread to the Mal Chattar lying between the Arts Building and registrar's office.

During the clashes, the university library, Modern Language Institute and the registrar building were shut down. The demonstrators tore down a concrete wall of the Institute of Business Administration and smashed windowpanes of the building on hearing that classes were going on there.

Police began beating a retreat at around 1:30pm when the entire campus went under students' control. At that time, the slogan 'Esho Bhai, Esho Bon, Gore Tuli Andolon" (Come gather 'round brothers and sisters, unite in a movement) reverberated along the length. Besides, the marchers clamoured for immediate resignation of the chief adviser and the army boss.

They burnt effigies of Moeen U Ahmed and put up barricades on almost every road. After the police left, they set fire to a pickup at TSC and tore down billboards and banners.

Throughout the day, they burnt tires and other objects to shield themselves from tear gas. All the entrances to the campus remained sealed off as ambulances were busy rushing the injured to the hospitals.

Students of fine arts scrawled graffiti over the road in front of their institute. One of those read "We want a campus free of army and police".

Police and students clashed at the Nilkhet intersection for around an hour starting from 11:00am. Police used tear gas while students retaliated with brickbats. During the melee, police gave two students severe beatings.

CLASHES AT SHAHBAGH
Around 50 students wielding rods rushed to the Shahbagh area at around 12:15pm as over 100 vehicles were stuck on either side of the road there due to heavy traffic jam caused by the clashes on campus.

They started bashing the vehicles at will, badly damaging at least 50 cars and buses.

They also beat up driver of an army car and an army soldier. Minutes after being flipped over by the demonstrators, the car went up in flames.

A police truck fitted with water cannon rushed to the spot and doused the fire.

Pedestrians took the injured driver to the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, a group of students from the rooftop of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall threw stones at the police in front of Aziz Super Market. In response, police lobbed tear gas shells and stopped vehicular movements on the road between Shahbagh and Science Lab.

On their way back to the campus, the students damaged 10 more vehicles.

At around 4:00pm, a group of students set fire to a BRTC bus near Railway Hospital and smashed glasses of four other vehicles, including a police pickup.

MAYHEM ON MIRPUR ROAD
Students of different colleges including Dhaka College, Eden College, Teachers' Training College, Dhaka Imperial College and Dhaka City College as well as workers of different roadside shops and street urchins took position on the Mirpur Road from Azimpur intersection to Dhanmondi-5 since 9:30am.

They barred the traffic, vandalised around 20 vehicles, and held a series of rallies till 11:00am.

At the rallies, they demanded immediate resignation of both the chiefs of the caretaker government and the army.

No police presence was seen until 3:00pm.

As police took position at Science Laboratory intersection, science laboratory police box and Nilkhet intersection, the students engaged into sporadic clashes with them.

The agitating mob set fire to the police box at science laboratory in the evening. Police and mob locked into battle leaving more than 20 injured.

'OUTSIDERS' PART
'Outsiders' including hawkers, small shop owners and workers were also seen demonstrating at several points including Nilkhet, Azimpur, Jhigatola and Satmasjid Road in the evening.

Police sources confirmed that the demonstrators were not students.

Unidentified people were also seen clashing with the law enforcers in and around Satmasjid road and Jhigatola areas. Witnesses said they were not students.

ATTACK ON AYUB QUADRI'S RESIDENCE
Some 40 unidentified youths while passing by the residence of Education Adviser Ayub Quadri in a procession pelted stones at it at 10:15pm.

They also removed the security shed at the adviser's residence at Dhanmondi Road- 7/A.

“I do not understand who made the attack and why. Students' demands have been met. I wonder whether the attackers had any specific intention or not,” Quadri told reporters.

Police could not confirm whether the attackers were students or not.