Bangladesh State TV Set Ablaze Amid Deadly Protests

Protesters set fire to the headquarters of Bangladesh’s state broadcaster, BTV, amid ongoing violent clashes between students and police. According to authorities, the situation has escalated significantly in Dhaka.

A post on BTV’s official Facebook page indicated that “many” people were trapped inside the building and appealed for the fire service’s assistance to extinguish the blaze. Bangladesh’s information minister confirmed that broadcasts had ceased and most employees had evacuated the building.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had addressed the nation on the network the night before, calling for calm after days of protests that have left at least 17 people dead and hundreds injured. Students have been rallying against a system that reserves a third of public sector jobs for relatives of veterans of the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, arguing that it is discriminatory and demanding merit-based recruitment.

The government has attempted to quell the protests by switching off the country’s mobile internet on Thursday. However, this move led to the deadliest day yet, with news agency AFP reporting 32 deaths, most of them occurring on Thursday, according to hospital counts.

In her Wednesday address, Sheikh Hasina condemned the protesters’ deaths as “murder,” but her words were largely dismissed by protest organizers. On Thursday, police used tear gas and rubber bullets as students escalated their actions, including storming and setting fire to a police station before targeting BTV.

An official at BTV described the chaos, saying, “They chased the police officers when they took refuge at the BTV office. Angry protesters then caused mayhem here.”

Information Minister Mohammad Ali Arafat stated that employees inside the building were “feeling very unsafe.” He added, “Security forces are present but have not yet taken action. They will now warn everyone and then move to clear the area.”