Police use teargas, water cannons to quell protests over removal of Lady Justice statue

Police have lobbed teargas shells to disband people protesting the removal of Lady Justice's statue from the Supreme Court premises.

Dhaka University Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 26 May 2017, 08:26 AM
Updated : 26 May 2017, 09:47 AM

The statue was removed from its spot near the court's entrance on Thursday night, following demands by radical Islamist outfit Hifazat-e-Islam.

Enraged by the decision, leftist student bodies began demonstrating outside the court premise and announced protests for the morning.

On Friday noon, police put up barricades near Bangladesh Shishu Academy to stop a procession by 'progressive students' who were marching towards the Supreme Court from the Raju Memorial at Dhaka University.

Police used teargas shells, water cannons and rubber bullets to disband the protesters as they tried to break through the barricades, said Samajtantrik Chhatra Front's General Secretary Snehadri Chakroborty Rintu.

Bangladesh Students Union General Secretary Liton Nondi was among five who were detained. At least 20 have been injured, according to protesters.

Sanjoy Kanti Das, Shamima Ara Mina, and Mukta Bhattacharya from Samajtantrik Chhatra Front suffered injuries, said Rintu.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Deputy Commissioner Maruf Hossain Sarder said they warned protesters to not enter the Supreme Court area.

"We tried to stop them by putting up barricades. We used teargas shells when they tried to break through our barricades," he told bdnews24.com.

He, however, could not confirm the number of protesters who have been detained.

The students then took back their procession to DU campus chanting slogans against government's "surrender to fundamentalists".

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, during a programme at her official residence on Apr 11, assured Hifazat delegates that the statue will be removed.

Defending her view, she said the sari-clad statue is half-Greek and half-Bengali, and that it is in full view of Muslims pray at the National Eidgah.