Medical College Admission System
Police foil admission seekers' demo
Medical and dental college admission seekers stage a demonstration in Dhaka University area yesterday demanding admission tests in the institutions.Photo: STAR
Police yesterday foiled a prescheduled demonstration of medical and dental college admission seekers demanding cancellation of the government decision to enroll students to the institutions based on their SSC and HSC results instead of holding admission tests. Police detained eight demonstrators around 9:00am from before Central Shaheed Minar in the capital, where the admission seekers had gathered with civil society members to press home their demand. They were released after five hours. Later, the demonstrators announced to form a human chain before Jatiya Press Club at 9:00am today. Shahbagh Police Station Officer-in-Charge Sirajul Islam said the eight were detained as they ignored the order to withdraw the demonstration. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ramna Zone SM Shiblee Noman said the demonstrators were told to leave as they did not take permission from the Dhaka University authorities and Dhaka Metropolitan Police to hold the programme. But the demonstrators said they had the right as the country's citizens to stage demonstrations peacefully and without violating the law and order to place their legal demand to the government. Moreover, they had declared to hold yesterday's demonstration though a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity on Sunday, they added. The demonstrators went to the Prime Minister's Office around 2:00pm and submitted a memorandum containing their demand. The demonstrations, participated by around 500 of the admission seekers, began at Central Shaheed Minar around 8:00am and moved to Raju Bhaskorjo around 11:00am in the form of a procession which paraded the DU streets. “The law enforcers told us that they had received an order from the higher authorities to detain us if we do not leave the premises (Central Shaheed Minar) immediately,” said one demonstrator, Saiful Islam. Police obstructed the procession of the demonstrators, heading towards the PMO, before Central Public Library at Shahbagh around 1:10pm. Later, police escorted a seven-member delegation of the demonstrators to the PMO. “We will continue our agitation until the government accepts our demand,” said one of the admission seekers, Imran Hossain. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Chhatra Union, Bangladesh Chhatra Federation, singer Arup Rahi and actress Rokeya Prachi expressed solidarity with the students and called upon the government to reconsider its decision.
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