Stay alert: India issues advisory for its nationals in Bangladesh after student protests resume

DHAKA: The Indian Embassy in Bangladesh on Sunday issued an advisory urging Indian nationals residing in the country to “remain alert” as the student protests resumed in Sylhet, in which an unspecified number of people have got injured.

One of the protesters was hit by a bullet amid the clashes and was immediately taken to the hospital, local media reported.

‘All Indian nationals including students living in the jurisdiction of Assistant High Commission of India, Sylhet are requested to be in touch with this office & are advised to remain alert,’ the Assistant High Commission of India (AHCI) said in a post on X.

A helpline number was also shared for emergencies.

The AHCI is a representative office of the Government of India in Sylhet and is responsible for the issuance of visas and the welfare of Indian nationals in its Consular jurisdiction (Districts of Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Kishoreganj and Netorokona), promotion of bilateral trade and culture.

AHCI functions under the general supervision of the High Commission of India, Dhaka.

The advisory followed after the protestors assembled around the Court Point area of Sylhet at around 11 am to demonstrate against the reservation quota for the families of veterans, local media reported.

In order to disperse the protesters, police fired tear gas shells and sound grenades, which triggered the clash between the students and the personnel.

The police have not yet commented on the incident.

Outraged by the high unemployment rate in the country, students in Bangladesh have been protesting to quash the 30 per cent reservation quota for the families of veterans of the War of Independence in 1971.

The quota system in government jobs was scrapped in 2018 after a major student movement but was reinstated by a court in June.