More than 100 teens were reported to have been injured today after a standoff between police and students protesting against poor road safety in Bangladesh.
In the past week, students have been protesting in the country's capital Dhaka, demanding for safer road conditions after two teenagers, Diya Khanam Mim and Abdul Karim Rajib, were killed by a speeding bus.
Students have brought traffic to a standstill in the city, demanding justice for the two victims.
"We won't leave the roads until our demands are met ... we want safe roads and safe drivers," protester Al Miran told The Telegraph .
Today, protests have taken a violent turn in Dhaka's Jigatala neighbourhood.
Witnesses say police fired rubber bullets and tear gas canisters at demonstrators.
Many were injured and some were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.
When asked about the violent confrontations, police denied they took action towards the students.
"It's not true. Nothing happened at Jigatola," Dhaka police spokesman Masudur Rahman told The Telegraph.
However, hospital reports suggest otherwise.
"We have treated more than 115 injured students so far since the afternoon," emergency ward doctor Abdus Shabbir said.
"There have also been some cases of injuries consistent with rubber bullets.
"A few of them were in very bad condition," he said.
Students have been expressing an outcry for help on social media using the hashtag #RoadSafety.
"We all are feeling threatened here. We wanted a peaceful protest. We don’t want any trouble occurring around here. Yet rubber bullets were shot at our brothers," student Sabbir Hossain said.
The education ministry shut down high schools on Friday in an effort to quell the unrest.
SHARE ME