Quota Reform Movement: 16,000 sued in Sylhet

As many as 16,000 people have been sued in 10 cases in connection with various incidents of violence during the quota reform movement in Sylhet.

The cases were filed separately at Kotwali, Jalalabad, and South Surma Police Stations under Sylhet Metropolitan Police.

Mohammad Saiful Islam, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police, confirmed the information, adding that a total of 107 people have been arrested following these cases as of 10:30pm on Tuesday.

Saiful Islam said that none of the arrested individuals are students of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST). However, students from various private universities in Sylhet, excluding SUST, have been named as accused.
Police sources said that they have filed 10 cases as plaintiffs over the incidents of violence in various parts of city. Among these, five cases were filed at Kotwali police station, four at Jalalabad police station, and one at South Surma police station.

A total of 244 accused were named in these cases while 12,810 to 16,015 unidentified individuals were made accused in the same cases.

The quota reform movement in Sylhet, began on July 2 with the students of SUST. The movement then, gained momentum from July 15 as students from various private universities and colleges of the city joined in. By July 17, the movement had turned violent.

The situation escalated further when the ‘Complete Shutdown’ was declared nationwide on July 18, leading to widespread violence the following day.

Violence erupted in the city on Friday (July 19), surrounding the students’ movement, resulting in extensive clashes between students, and the police.

To control the situation, a curfew was imposed nationwide from Saturday.

During the violence, a journalist was shot dead, and a SUST student drowned while fleeing in panic.

Several police officers were injured in clashes with protesters, with numerous students sustaining injuries.