Bangladesh snaps internet services as anti-quota protests turn violent killing 39

The country's junior telecom minister said the government has ordered a complete nationwide shutdown of internet services.

A state broadcaster's building was put on blaze as relentless violence gripped the South Asian country following multiple clashes between the protesters, security officials and pro-government protesters.

Eyewitnesses told Prothom Alo that more than a hundred people entered BTV headquarters by breaking the main gate.

A senior BTV journalist, who didn’t want to be named, told the BBC: "The situation was so bad we didn’t have any other option but to leave the place. Some of our colleagues were trapped inside. I don’t know what happened to them."

The official website of Bangladesh Prime Minister's Office or PMO is not opening and instead the message on it reads, "It's not a protest anymore, it's a war now."

Writings like "Operation HuntDown" and "Stop Killing Students" trigger the speculation over whether the website has been compromised.

Bangladesh PMO's official website was found hacked | Photo courtesy: Screenshot grab

The protest began on July 1 after the High Court's reinstatement of the freedom fighters' quota.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already appealed to students to end the protest.

Law minister Anisul Huq said the government would sit with the demonstrators.

"I have told the attorney general to appeal to the court on Sunday for an early hearing in this regard," he was quoted as saying by Prothom Alo.

Urging the protesters to postpone the movement, the law minister said, “As a fatherly figure, I am requesting you to move away from the protest.”

Why is Bangladesh witnessing protests on quota?

Bangladesh has been witnessing the demonstrations for the past several days now with students wanting the government to change to a system which reserves a third of public sector jobs for the relatives of veterans of the country’s war for independence from Pakistan in 1971.

Demanding for recruitment based on merit, the students called the quota system discriminatory.

Aleem Khan, 22, told the BBC: "The Prime Minister is asking for an end to the violence with one hand whilst, with the other hand, attacking students using pro-ruling party groups and the police."

One of the students, Sumi, told the BBC: "I am here to protest against discrimination within the civil service and now that so many students have been killed by the police, I am also protesting against that."

"Our protest is peaceful, but the way in which we were attacked made me feel like we were going to be killed by pro-ruling party groups," the student said.

Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Bangladesh asked its citizens and students to avoid local travel and minimize movement outside living premises.