New Delhi, Aug 5 (FN Agency) With fresh clashes breaking out in Bangladesh where over 90 people are reported to have died in violence, India on Sunday night “strongly advised” Indian nationals against travelling to Bangladesh till further notice. The advisory said that all Indian nationals in Bangladesh are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact with the Indian High Commission in Dhaka. The Advisory read: “In view of ongoing developments, Indian nationals are strongly advised against travelling to Bangladesh till further notice. “All Indian nationals presently in Bangladesh are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact with the High Commission of India in Dhaka through their emergency phone numbers :“+8801958383679+8801958383680+8801937400591” On Sunday, 91 people, including 13 policemen, were killed and many others injured in fierce clashes between protesters demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and supporters of the ruling Awami League in different parts of Bangladesh.
The violence has forced the authorities to shut mobile internet services and enforce a nationwide curfew. The clashes broke out in the morning when protesters attending a non-cooperation programme under the banner of the Students Against Discrimination demanding the government’s resignation over the job quota issue faced fierce opposition from supporters of the ruling Awami League, its students’ wing Chhatra League, and the Jubo League activists. The deaths were reported in the capital Dhaka and the northern districts of Bogura, Pabna and Rangpur, as well as in Magura in the west, Comilla in the east, and Barisal and Feni in the south. PM Hasina has said those who were engaging in the “sabotage” and the destruction in the name of protests were no longer students, but criminals, and said the people should deal with them with iron hands. Today’s protests come days after fierce demonstrations in July calling for an end to a quota system for government jobs escalated into violence leading to 200 deaths. Thousands of Indian students had returned to India following the violence last month.