Police use batons to disperse march by madrasa teachers

Police have charged batons, fired teargas and used water cannons to stop Ebtedayee Madrasa teachers from marching on the Chief Advisor's Office, leaving five injured. The incident occurred around 1pm in front of Shahbagh Police Station on Sunday.

The injured, including a woman, were receiving treatment at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said Inspector Md Faruk, who is in charge of the hospital's police camp. "The five injured teachers are being treated at the emergency department of the hospital, but their condition is not critical," he said.

The injured were Anowar Hossain, 35, Faridul Islam, 30, 'Aminul', 35, Mizanur Rahman, 35, and Marufa Akter, 25. Belayet Hossain, the headmaster of a Jhalakathi madrasa who took the wounded to the hospital, said: "We've been holding a demonstration in front of the Press Club since Jan 19 demanding the nationalisation of independent Ebtedayee Madrasas."

"When we were on our way to bring the memorandum to the Chief Advisor's Office in the afternoon, police abruptly attacked us with sticks, sound grenades and water cannons in Shahbagh. Five of our teachers, including a woman, were injured in the incident."

Around 6pm, Shahbagh Police OC Mohammad Khalid Mansur said: "A team of representatives from them were taken to deliver the memorandum. They were still taking position there."

The teachers earlier took position in front of the Institute of Fine Arts in Dhaka University following the encounter, he said.

Earlier, police obstructed the procession demanding nationalisation in front of Shahbagh after it began from near the National Press Club.

However, the teachers tried to break through the police barricade, prompting the law enforcers to wield batons, fire teargas, and use water canons to disperse them.

"They were trying to move towards the chief advisor's residence to present a memorandum, but we stopped them in front of the museum with a barricade."

"When they tried to force their way through the barricade, police dispersed them."

The demands of the Ebtedayee Madrasa teachers are: Withdrawal of the 2008 suspension order on the formation of a standalone Ebtedayee Madrasa Board; drafting policies dedicated for madrasas; assigning of code numbers to existing registered institutions; approval of regulations for proper state recognition and financial benefits for teachers; recruiting office assistants like in government primary schools; approval of the pre-primary education system in Ebtedayee Madrasas.