Published: 08:13 AM, 26 November 2025 Last Update: 08:59 AM, 26 November 2025
Protesters stage sit-in after clashes with police over deferring 47th BCS exam
An hour of clashes between police and job seekers demanding a postponement of the 47th BCS written exam have brought traffic at Shahbagh to a standstill, while protesters staged sit-in outside the police station.
Clashes erupted on Tuesday afternoon when the demonstrators broke through police barricades and attempted to march toward the State Guest House Jamuna, the official residence of the chief advisor.
After about an hour of back-and-forth chases, the protesters regrouped and began demonstrating outside Shahbagh Police Station.
The job seekers have been demonstrating across the country, including the capital, to postpone the BCS written exam. They blockaded railways in Mymensingh and Natore as well. Shahbagh Police Inspector Asaduzzaman said the protesters demonstrated in front of the station around 6:45pm on Tuesday.
The officer said a police vehicle was damaged during the clash, which spread to TSC from the intersection, reports bdnews24.com. Several protesters were reportedly injured in the clash and are now being treated at Dhaka
Medical College Hospital. The traffic movement through the intersection was temporarily suspended. The movement, however, has resumed.
Additional personnel have been deployed, police said.
"We have put up a barricade in front of the police station. We are trying to persuade them," said Asaduzzman.
A demonstrator said in the afternoon that previous BCS written exams allowed up to 15 months for job seekers for preparation.
"But we have only two months to prepare. And 20 of the days had been spent participating in a special BCS exam," said the protester.
"We told the PSC that we cannot prepare in 40 days. We should be given a reasonable amount of time so that we can prepare properly and sit the exam," he added.
The results of the 47th BCS preliminary exam were published on Sept 28, with 10,644 candidates declared qualified. Their written tests are scheduled to begin on Thursday.
On Sept 19, the BCS preliminary test was held simultaneously in 262 educational institutions across eight divisional cities.
The PSC issued the circular on Nov 28 to recruit for 3,487 cadre posts and 201 non-cadre posts.
The 47th BCS preliminary exam had been postponed by 43 days.
