Dhaka, August 5: Violence broke out among rival student factions at various university campuses in Bangladesh, resulting in multiple injuries. In response to the severity of the situation, additional police forces were deployed to the campuses, local media reported on Wednesday.
The clashes occurred between the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), known as the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), and the student unit of the hardline Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami, called the Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS). Students clashed at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, Jagannath University, Dhaka College, and the government-run Madrasah-e-Alia in the capital.
According to The Dhaka Tribune, the violence escalated due to ideological differences between the two groups, which have been under increasing tension over their influence and dominance. Universities, which led protests in 2024, have once again become battlegrounds for political conflict.
Police reported that members of the student factions and ICS clashed at Dhaka College on Tuesday, leaving several students injured.
Speaking to Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo, Sheikh Zahidul Islam, Deputy Commissioner of the Ramna Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, confirmed that the clash occurred within the Dhaka College campus. “Many people have been injured. There was no police presence inside the campus. We arrived at the scene after receiving reports of the incident,” he stated.
Prothom Alo cited police sources indicating that tensions at Dhaka College heightened following earlier confrontations at Jagannath University. Members of the JCD clashed with the Jagannath University Central Students Union (JNUCSU) and the Chhatra Shakti Party. The altercation stemmed from a dispute over entry to a seminar commemorating the second anniversary of the July 2024 protests.
The violence later spread to the National Medical College Hospital, where injured students were admitted for treatment. Doctors reported that by Tuesday evening, over 70 injured individuals had received medical care, including leaders and activists from the JCD, ICS, Chhatra Shakti, and the university’s central student union, as well as several journalists.
Reports indicate that the first major clash occurred on Monday evening at Begum Rokeya University, related to an exhibition reflecting the July 2024 protests. The violence began when JCD members objected to a banner titled “Judicial Killing,” which displayed images of six leaders from Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP convicted of crimes against humanity during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
The dispute escalated quickly, leading to intermittent retaliatory actions between the JCD and ICS for five hours. Witnesses reported that members of both groups were armed with sharp weapons, hockey sticks, iron rods, bamboo sticks, and helmets, while traffic outside the campus came to a halt. Amid rising tensions, the administrations of Begum Rokeya University and Jagannath University announced separate investigation committees on Tuesday night, while police remained deployed across several campuses in Dhaka to prevent further violence.
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