DHAKA: Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina Wajed has ordered police and other authorities to crack down on student violence, some of it involving her own supporters, which has resulted in scores of injuries and disrupted classes.
Hasina, who took office less than two weeks ago after a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, said law enforcement agencies should “deal sternly with trouble-seeking students without caring for their political identities,” a senior Home Ministry official said yesterday.
Investors and aid donors hope Hasina brings a measure of political stability to Bangladesh, which has a history of party supporters clashing in the streets and engaging in other tactics that sometimes turn violent.
Hasina gave the order for action on the campuses after police said students backing her Awami League had fought battles among themselves and with rivals at Dhaka University and several others across the country of more than 140 million, forcing classes and examinations to halt.
Around 35 students were injured in clashes at Jahangirnagar University near the capital, while rebellious students locked off the whole campus at the Chittagong University for several days.
Awami League student wing members in some cases battled rivals within their own group as well as those from other parties with sticks and iron rods, police and university officials said. They added that the factions also used crude bombs in efforts to occupy dormitories and assert control over the campuses.
