Students stage demo for 3.5-hour amid rain in Ctg, police box vandalised
The protests are part of the ongoing anti-discrimination student movement
Defying heavy rain, thousands of students took to the streets in Chattogram for nearly four and a half hours today (2 August), demanding justice for what they described as a nationwide genocide.
Meanwhile, around 3:45pm, when the procession reached Wasa intersection, protesters vandalised a traffic police box, police claimed.
"The protesters vandalised a traffic police box. However, there were no police officers there," Public Relations Officer of Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP), Additional Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Tarek Aziz, told The Business Standard.
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"Additionally, while the procession was passing the CMP headquarters, the nameplate of the CMP Liberation War Museum was also vandalised. No arrests have been made in connection with these incidents," he added.
He further said, "According to our officers on the ground, there were around 5,000 people who participated in the demonstration."
Earlier around 1:45pm, the protest, titled "Prayer and Mass March of Students and Citizens," began in front of the Anderkilla Shahi Jame Mosque.
Despite the downpour, the students marched from Anderkilla intersection to Laldighi, Kotwali, New Market, Tiger Pass, Lal Khan Bazar, Wasa intersection, Dampara, GEC, Number Two Gate, Muradpur, and ended at Bahaddarhat intersection around 5:10pm.
However, the protesters blocked roads several times at New Market, Tiger Pass, and Bahaddarhat intersection, halting traffic.
Emergency vehicles, such as ambulances, were allowed to pass, our correspondent reports from the spot.
The protestors chanted slogans such as "Why did my brother die? We demand answers from the administration," and "My brother is in the grave, why are the killers free?" The crowd included not just students but also local citizen.
The protestors vowed to continue their movement until justice is served.
"We have taken to the streets to demand justice for the nationwide killings. We will not return home until we achieve it," one protestor said.
During this time, people of different ages including the mosque's worshipers, guardians can be seen participating in the programme. When the rain started, the shopkeepers around the road were seen helping the students by providing polythene. Many people also helped the students with water, bananas, cakes and bread.
Chattogram metropolitan police assistant commissioner Atanu Chakraborty informed the media that around 200 police officers were deployed to monitor the situation but did not interfere with the protest.
