97 students arrested in 51 cases after road safety demo
During the student demonstration demanding safe road 97 students were arrested in at least 51 cases filed between July 29 and August 15 with different police stations accusing over 5,000 unnamed people over the violence.
Reckless race of two buses that cost lives of two college-goers in the city triggered the students' spontaneous movement that remained largely peaceful but gone disarrayed amidst accusation and counter-accusation of attacks and rumours.
সম্পর্কিত খবর
Of 52 cases, 43 were filed under sections of Panel Code and Special Power Act, while the rest of cases were under ICT act.
Diya Khanam Mim and Abdul Karim Rajib, two students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment School and College were killed when an Uttara-bound bus of 'Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan' ploughed through the students as they were standing beside the road in front of Kurmitola General Hospital on Airport Road in the capital on 29 July.
Angered by the tragic incident, the students of the college took to the streets and put up barricades on both sides of the road, disrupting traffic for nearly two hours. Finally, the protest turned into a students' movement for 'road safety' as thousands of students from both public and privately-run schools and colleges as well as from universities joined the agitation.
Newspapers published lots of photographs depicting sticks and iron rod carrying youths with their heads covered by helmets joining force alongside law enforcers in different city areas further fuelling angers among students protesting deaths of their peers. None of those helmeted youths has been arrested yet.
Amid the growing student movement over a nine-point demand, especially for the 'Road Safety', Bangladesh police started to observe special Traffic Week across the country from 5 August and it was extended by three more days after scheduled end on 11 August.
A total of 1,80,249 vehicles were sued and 5418 other vehicles were detained for violation of traffic rules, while legal actions were taken against 74,224 drivers and Tk 70.8 million was collected as fines during the period.
Contacted, deputy commissioner (media) of Dhaka metropolitan police Masudur Rahman said 97 people were arrested in connection with 51 cases, filled with different police station till 11 August.
Among those arrestees, 81 were arrested in connection with 43 cases filed under section of Panel Code and Special Power Act, the DC (Media) said adding that 16 others were arrested in connection with eight cases filed under ICT Act with different police stations during the time.
Special super (SS) of the CID (Organised Crime unit) Mollah Nazrul Islam told UNB that a case was filed with Paltan police station under Section of 57 (2) of the ICT Act on 15 August (Wednesday) against two students whom they arrested from East Rajabazar and Kamrangichar in the capital on 14 August night on charge of spreading rumours on social media during the recent students' protest for road safety.
Sources at the DMP said a total of 14 cases were filed with different police stations under Ramna division and 31 people were arrested in connection with the cases.
One case was filed with a police station under Lalbagh division of the DMP and one person was arrested in connection with the case.
One person was arrested in connection with another case filed with a police station under Wari division, while 10 people were arrested in connection with six cases filed with different police stations under Motijheel division of the DMP.
Six people were arrested in connection with two cases filed with different police stations under Tejgaon division, while five cases were filed with different police stations under Mirpur division.
Besides, nine cases were filed with different police stations under Gulshan division and 26 were shown arrested in connection with those cases. Three people were arrested in connection with four cases filed with different police stations under Uttara division.
