Buet condemns police action on protesting engineering students in Dhaka

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) has strongly protested the police attack on engineering students demonstrating in Dhaka today.

In a statement signed by Registrar (in-charge) NM Golam Zakaria, the university condemned the use of force, saying, "Such police action, instead of resolving the issue peacefully, is completely unacceptable. The Buet administration is extremely angered and deeply aggrieved by the behaviour of the police, and strongly protests this attack."

Engineering students from Buet and other institutions have been staging demonstrations for several days. Their three key demands are: BSc (Engineering) graduates must be recruited as assistant engineers or in equivalent posts, diploma engineers must not be allowed to use the title "engineer", and diploma engineers must not be promoted to the ninth grade, while BSc graduates should be placed directly in the 10th grade.

Earlier, Buet's vice-chancellor and pro-vice-chancellor met the education adviser at the Secretariat, urging immediate steps to address the students' concerns. Following the meeting, an eight-member committee headed by Muhammad Faozul Kabir Khan, adviser to the power, energy and mineral resources ministry, was formed to review the professional demands of both BSc graduates and diploma holders and make recommendations.

As part of their pre-announced "Long March to Dhaka," students gathered at Shahbagh around 11:00am, blocking the busy intersection.

At around 1:30pm, the demonstrators began marching towards the chief adviser's residence, Jamuna. Police intercepted them near the InterContinental Hotel, where clashes broke out. Law enforcers fired tear gas shells, hurled sound grenades, and used batons and water cannons to disperse the crowd.

Protesting students claimed more than 50 of them were injured, while police said demonstrators threw brick chunks, injuring several officers. By 3:00pm, a tense standoff continued between students and law enforcers in front of Hotel InterContinental.

In its statement, Buet urged the government to launch a proper investigation into the police action and hold those responsible accountable.