At least 73 students of Barishal University (BU) and Government BM College were admitted to Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital. Most of them are in critical condition. Another 25 to 30 people, including pedestrians, journalists and vehicle drivers, were also injured.
A clash broke out between the students of the two groups on Wednesday night over a trivial incident.
Mostafizur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Model Police Station confirmed the matter.
According to police, students of BM College intervened over a land dispute of a Barishal University student on Monday. On that day, some students of BU attacked several students of the college. Students of BM College detained two students of the university and took them to the city's Battala police outpost on Tuesday night on charges of extortion. They are Rafin Kaiser of Physics Department of 2019-20 session and Emon Khan of Soil and Environmental Science Department of 2017-18 session.
The first round of clashes took place when hundreds of students from the university went there to release the detainees. A bus of the university was vandalized. Later, sporadic clashes took place in the city's Natun Bazar, Nathullabad, Amir Kutir and other places, leaving many casualties on both sides. Army and police patrols have been increased across the city to control the situation.
Dr HM Saiful Islam, director of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital, said more than 100 injured people came to the hospital for treatment from Tuesday midnight to yesterday morning. Many of their injuries are serious. We are trying to provide the best service to everyone in the hospital.
ZH
