Dhaka,

The student movement in Bangladesh has turned violent. Students are demanding the abolition of reservation in jobs. So far 64 people have died in the violent protests. Meanwhile, the protesting students set fire to a prison building in Narsingdi district and freed hundreds of prisoners.

According to the news agency, the police said that the prisoners escaped from the jail and the protesters set the jail on fire. The policeman said that I do not know the number of prisoners, but it will be in hundreds. A senior government official confirmed the news of the escape from the jail, but did not give any further details.

Dhaka Police has banned all public gatherings with the aim of preventing violent protests. Police chief Habibur Rahman said that we have banned all rallies, processions and public gatherings in Dhaka today. He said that this step was necessary to ensure public safety.

A protester said that our protest will continue. He said that they are demanding the immediate resignation of Sheikh Hasina. He said that the government is responsible for the killings during the protest. According to some reports, 64 people have died so far in the violent protest.

Bangladesh PM appeals for peace
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently addressed the nation on the government national television. She appealed to maintain peace, but after this the protesters became more angry. They attacked the government television office and burnt it down. When the protesters set the government television office on fire, about 1200 employees along with many journalists were present there. The police-administration somehow saved them after a lot of hard work.

Violence took place in these cities of Bangladesh
Thousands of students armed with sticks and stones clashed violently with armed police in several cities of Bangladesh including Dhaka, Chittagong, Rangpur and Cumilla. Due to the student protests and subsequent arson and stone pelting, life has been disrupted in many major cities of the country including Dhaka. People are facing problems due to this. According to Daily Star, students are protesting in 8 districts. The protesters have blocked roads and railway routes. Railway services have been badly affected due to the blockade in Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna and Chittagong.

Why are there protests in Bangladesh?
Students are demanding to end reservation in jobs. In fact, 56 percent of government jobs are reserved under the reservation system in Bangladesh. Of these, 30 percent are reserved for the descendants of freedom fighters of the 1971 Liberation War, 10 percent for backward administrative districts, 10 percent for women, five percent for ethnic minority groups and one percent for disabled people. The movement is being run against the 30 percent reservation given to the descendants of freedom fighters. Every year, only about 3 thousand government jobs are released in Bangladesh, for which about 4 lakh candidates apply.