Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has urged all concerned not to spread misinformation regarding the police role during the protests of United International University (UIU) students on Saturday morning on Madani Avenue.
In a press release issued on Saturday, the DMP said that “Some people are circulating misleading and baseless reports on social media regarding the incident.”
The release said a group of 30-40 students from UIU staged a demonstration at Natun Bazar intersection around 8:30am, blocking the road and disrupting vehicular movement as part of a pre-declared protest demanding the withdrawal of expulsion orders and other issues, UNB reports.
At one stage, police personnel engaged in multiple rounds of discussion with the demonstrating students, requesting them to clear the road and refrain from causing public inconvenience, according to the DMP.
“Despite repeated requests, as the students refused to leave the road on-duty police officers attempted to remove them around 10:30am to ease public suffering, leading to a brief scuffle between the protesters and the police who eventually managed to clear the road,” the release said.
The protesting students resumed their demonstration by reoccupying the road around 11:45 am and discussions with university authorities and students are ongoing to resolve the situation peacefully, the DMP added.
The statement further mentioned that police have been trying to manage the situation peacefully without using any form of force and are continuing efforts to reach a resolution through dialogue.
It also noted that one lane of the Badda-Kuril road remains open to traffic.