Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), supported by police, was deployed early on Monday (27 January) night as sporadic clashes broke out between students of Dhaka University (DU) and its seven affiliated colleges at the Nilkhet intersection.
Four platoons were dispatched to restore order after students from both groups converged on the area, said BGB HQ Spokesperson Shariful Islam.
The clashes, which saw students wielding sticks and hurling brick chips, prompted police to deploy sound grenades to disperse the crowd.
The situation gradually de-escalated by 1:30am following intervention by security forces.
However, tensions had been mounting since the evening, when over a hundred students from the affiliated colleges staged a protest at the Science Lab intersection on Mirpur Road, blocking traffic for nearly four and a half hours.
The demonstration, which began at 6pm o Sunday (26 January), was held in protest against Dhaka University's handling of their six-point demands.
The seven college students have outlined six demands:
1. Elimination of arbitrary admission quotas from the 2024-25 academic session.
2. Adherence to classroom capacity limits for student admissions.
3. Maintenance of a proper teacher-to-student ratio in new enrollments.
4. Introduction of negative marking in admission tests.
5. Transparency in admission fees, with funds deposited in an independent account.
6. An immediate public apology from the Pro-Vice Chancellor for alleged misconduct.
In response, DU issued a statement accusing the students of disrupting activities at the Pro-Vice Chancellor’s office.
By 10:30pm, more than 300 students marched towards Dhaka University, but were confronted by several hundred DU students from various halls, who forcibly drove them back from Nilkhet.
By 11:45pm, both groups remained stationed on opposite sides of the intersection, keeping the area on edge.
Amid the unrest, vehicular movement in Nilkhet, Science Lab, and Elephant Road was severely disrupted.
Earlier in the day, representatives of the seven colleges sought a meeting with DU Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Mamun Ahmed to discuss the progress of their demands, including the abolition of the quota system in admissions from the 2024-25 session.
Other demands included ensuring student intake does not exceed classroom capacity, introducing negative marking in admission tests, and increasing financial transparency by depositing admission fees into a designated account overseen by a special education ministry committee.
However, students alleged that the Pro-VC dismissed their concerns and behaved inappropriately during the meeting.
They later demanded his public apology and a formal response to their grievances. Professor Mamun was unavailable for comment regarding these allegations.
Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan has scheduled an emergency meeting with the principals of the seven affiliated colleges.
According to a statement from the university’s public relations office, the meeting, set for 12:30pm on Monday, will address "the interests of students from the seven affiliated colleges."
