Locals in Patuatoli have destroyed a banner on Shaheed Ajmal Hossain Hall, minutes after it was put up by Jagannath University students agitating to reclaim occupied dormitories.
Students said, the vandals are working for ‘influential illegal occupants.’ The area is tense but no unpleasant event has taken place so far, said Kotwali Police OC Md Moniruzzaman. Jagannath’s students began their scheduled on-campus protest at 10am on Sunday.
Businessmen in the area closed their shops and were prepared to counter the protest, witnesses said.
Thousands brought out a procession towards the hall an hour later but it was stopped under an over bridge at Banglabazaar. A strong barricade of policemen cordoned off the students who demonstrated there for an hour.
A small team of protesters then went with the police to place the banner on Ajmal Hall. The locals tore it down and set it on fire before starting their own agitations, within minutes after the students headed back to campus.
They were also heard saying, ‘No halls in a residential area!’
