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Published : 18 Nov 2024, 04:40 PM
Several passengers on board a train have been injured by thrown stones soon after it nearly hit protesters staging a blockade to demand that Dhaka’s Government Titumir College be converted into a university.
The incident occurred around 11:45am on Monday in the Mohakhali Rail Crossing area, according to Sardar Shahadat Ali, director general of the Bangladesh Railway.
The Upakul Express from Noakhali was crossing the area around the time when protesters began throwing stones at the train, injuring some passengers.
“They threw stones at the train. Twenty-nine windows on five carriages were damaged. Several passengers were injured. We provided first aid to the passengers.”
A child was among the injured, according to Jainul Abedin, chief of the Dhaka Railway Police Station.
The train was damaged as protesting students threw brickbats at it, he said.
“Several passengers, including a child, were injured when the windows were broken, but we cannot give an accurate count of how many were injured.”
Hundreds of students gathered at Mohakhali’s Amtoli, the Wet Market area, and the rail crossing around 11am for the protest.
A group of students blocked the rail crossing in the afternoon. The Upakul Express’s loco master hit the brakes when they observed the protesters, but the train stopped once it had passed the scene of the blockade.
Video footage shared on social media showed some of the protesters making narrow escapes by moving away from the rail line. Some of them had thrown stones at the train.
The blockade had cut off Dhaka’s Kamalapur Railway Station from rail links with the rest of the country, according to Kamalapur Station Master Anowar Hossain.
“Titumir College students have blocked the road to demand a university,” he said. “We have learnt that a train has been blocked in the area, but are not yet sure which one it is. I spoke to the control room and they said that no trains are departing now.”
Hundreds of students took up positions at Mohakhali’s Amtoli, the Mohakhali Wet Market, and the Mohakhali Rail Crossing area on Monday. They held separate marches to press for their demand. Some students have occupied the road and the rail line and are not allowing anyone to pass.
“Today, we have taken to the streets to earn our demand,” said Ashraful Islam Titas, a student in the Department of Bangla. “For the past 27 years, students at Titumir College have demanded that it be converted to a university. But that demand is not being met. Jagannath College has become a university. Fifty-eight thousand students are studying at the college, but our reasonable demands are not being met.”
Al Noman Nirob, a student in the third year at the Department of Mathematics, said: “We will continue blocking the road and rail line until we get clear assurances that the ministry or those specifically responsible have decided to form a Titumir Commission.”
Many police personnel have been deployed at Amtoli and the rail crossing area.
