Published : 28 Oct 2026, 04:00 PM
Updated : 28 Oct 2026, 04:00 PM
Students of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU), have vandalised a gate and several structures built for the Asia International Trade Fair at the old trade fair ground in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar amid protests against a decision to relocate the Bangladesh Secretariat there.
The students marched to the ground on Wednesday morning and took up positions there, demanding that the site be returned to the university. At one point, they vandalised the fair gate and several stalls.
The students have been protesting against the government's decision to move the Bangladesh Secretariat from its current location to the old trade fair ground in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
Witnesses said the students gathered in front of the university's flag stand in the morning before marching to the old trade fair ground, chanting slogans.
At one stage, they vandalised the fair gate and stalls on the premises.
The students said they had asked the authorities on Tuesday to relocate the fair and set a deadline for doing so. They went to the ground after seeing no progress on their demand within the stipulated time.
The protesters said they would continue their movement until the ground was returned.
Mohammad Jahangir Islam, an organiser of the fair, said: “We are giving instructions to remove the gate immediately. We are not outsiders to this university. We will remove it.”
Mohammad Monirul Islam Monir, chief of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, told bdnews24.com: “The students came to the ground and vandalised the gate and a couple of small structures. They later left after pressing for their demands.”
On Tuesday afternoon, university students marched to the old trade fair ground while soil testing was under way there for the proposed Secretariat complex.
They then took soil-testing equipment and two vehicles to the university campus.
Ibne Mizan, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Tejgaon Division, said: “There are plans to relocate the Secretariat to that ground. However, after Aug 5, university students wanted to establish an institute there for field research. They have therefore been opposing the relocation of the Secretariat.
“Today's vandalism is a continuation of that protest. There is actually little we can do on this matter. It would be better to discuss it with the university administration and the Public Works Department.”
Police will take action in accordance with the law if anyone files a written complaint over the vandalism, the officer added.
