At least 31 people, including 11 students and a journalist, were killed across the country on July 18 last year as law enforcement agencies launched crackdown on the protesters during the "complete shutdown" that drew huge public participation, reports BSS.
According to Bangla daily Samakal, 24 were killed in the capital Dhaka, two each in Chattogram and Narsingdi and one each in Rangpur, Savar and Madaripur.
The daily reported that nearly 1,500 people were injured on the day, raising the death toll to 37 as of that day, including the casualties of July 16.
During the daylong shutdown, protesters under the anti-discrimination student movement banner staged demonstrations blocking all roads and railways across the country carrying different placards and chanted slogans like "Jegeche Re Jegeche, Chhatro Somaj Jegeche," "Shohider Rokto, Britha Jethe Debona," "Amar Sonar Banglai, Boishommer Tie Nai."
However, police crackdown on the protesters sparked outrages prompting the agitators setting fire to key government installations, including the BTV headquarters in Rampura and the Department of Disaster Management, National Data Centre and Setu Bhaban in Mohakhali in the city that night. Several police boxes were also torched or vandalised, including in Mirpur, Mohakhali and Badda in the city. The protesters also set fire to Uttara East Police Station.
From noon until late night, most rail connections to Dhaka were suspended. The government shut down internet access nationwide after 09:00 pm on July 18 while the then ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak justified the internet shutdown as a "situational necessity."
Earlier, at around 12:30 pm, demonstrators set fire to the toll plaza of the Mayor Hanif Flyover in Jatrabari.
Besides, the government deployed 229 platoons of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) across the country, including in Dhaka, in a bid to contain the movement and maintain law and order. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) also imposed an indefinite ban on public gatherings in the capital.
As part of the shutdown, demonstrators set fire to a police box under the metro line at the Mirpur-10 roundabout. Authorities subsequently suspended metro rail operations.
Clashes between protesters and police broke out in various divisions, districts and upazilas across the country. In some places, the then ruling party's student and youth wings Chhatra League and Jubo League also joined the police, turning the conflict into a three-way confrontation.
As a stiff resistance was made in Jatrabari and Kajla area on July 16 by protesters, they continued blocking the Dhaka-Chattogram highway from that day evening until the government imposed a curfew in the midnight on July 19.
After the universities were declared closure for indefinite period and students of public universities were forcefully ousted from their dormitories by July 17, the students of the public universities and madrasahs and general people actually took the lead of the street movement from July 18.
As the situation across the country was deteriorating rapidly, at an emergency press briefing on July 18, the then Law Minister Anisul Huq said, "The government is willing to sit for talks with the demonstrators. The prime minister has assigned me and the education minister to facilitate this dialogue."
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