C T Online Desk: A case has been filed in connection with Chhatra League activists being thrown from the roof of a building in Chittagong’s Muradpur during the quota reform movement.
A victim lodged a complaint at Panchlaish police station on Saturday.
Fifty people have been named in the case, and 30-35 unidentified others have been accused, said Kazi Md Tarek Aziz, additional deputy commissioner (public relations) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police.
On July 16, clashes erupted at Sholashar railway station during an anti-quota protest. The conflict spread from Sholoshahar to the Gate No. 2 area and reached the Muradpur intersection. At one point, a group of Chhatra League leaders and activists, after being pursued, got trapped in a five-storied building next to Belal Mosque in Muradpur. Anti-quota activists surrounded the building and began beating the Chhatra League members on the rooftop.
Videos circulating on social media show Chhatra League leaders and activists on the roof being severely beaten. Another video shows Chhatra League activists lying on the roof covered in blood. One video on Facebook shows 15 Chhatra League leaders and activists trying to escape the rooftop via the cornice and a water pipe at the back of the building amidst the protestors’ assault. Some took shelter on sunshades and window ledges. Protestors above continued to throw stones and hit them with sticks and hockey sticks, while stones were also thrown from below.
At one point, a person dressed in black fell from the five-storied sunshade on the right side of the building. Seconds later, another person fell from above.
Police arrest 897 in Chittagong following anti-quota protests
Meanwhile, 897 people have been arrested in 31 cases over the past 12 days in Chittagong.
ADC Kazi Md Tarek Aziz said that 20 cases related to the quota movement violence have been registered in the Chittagong Metropolitan area. In the last 12 days, 516 people have been arrested in the city, including 40 in the past 24 hours.
Chittagong district Police Additional Superintendent (DSB) Abu Tayeb Md Arif Hossain said: “Eleven cases have been filed in 10 upazilas of the district concerning attacks and vandalism related to the quota movement. A total of 381 people, including 10 in the last 24 hours, have been arrested in these cases.”
