Police baton charge, detain students demanding postponement of HSC exam

Police on Tuesday charged baton and detained a number of students who took to the streets to demand postponement of Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations, and protested against the police attacks and detention of students on Monday.

The agitating students on Tuesday gathered in the TSC area of Dhaka University and marched towards the Shahbagh intersection, covering their faces with black cloth.

Police stopped the students in front of Shahbagh police station, charged batons, and physically assaulted them, said the protesters.

Abdullah Al Sajib, an HSC examinee from Govt Shaheed Suhrawardy College, said they got only 16 months for preparing for the exam, while earlier examinees got two years.

He said many students have been suffering from dengue, and could not prepare properly for the exam.

The protestors alleged that at least seven students were detained by police on Tuesday.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner for Ramna division Ashraf Hossain said most of the protesters were not students, and they had different intentions.

He said the police detained a number of protestors to check their identities.

He also said several lakhs of students are making preparations for the HSC exams while only a handful are taking to the streets to create anarchy.

Earlier, on Monday, the protesting students had put blockades at Shahbagh, Nilkhet and Science Lab intersections to press their demand home.

Aside from postponing the HSC exam, they demanded not to scrap the exam on Information, Communication and Technology subject.

They also demanded that the authorities postpone the HSC exam for two months, or make them 50-mark exams instead of 100-mark.

Police on Monday removed students from the Shahbagh crossing by charging batons and detained a number of protesters.

"We have interrogated some detainees and they are giving contradictory information and cannot show their student identifications," said the police officer.