Police on Wednesday arrested 3,000 people across the country and filed cases over violence and sabotage centring the recent quota reform movement.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested 1,380 people in 154 cases in the capital over the last few days.
Many of the arrestees, now on remand, are giving important information about financiers of sabotage, DMP Joint Commissioner (Operation) Biplob Kumar Sarker told reporters at DMP head office.
He said miscreants had attacked around 69 police establishments in the capital and set fire to several traffic boxes.
"Our development section is working on the loss incurred by police due to the violence. So far, equipment worth Tk 8.72 crore has been damaged," said Biplob Later, DMP in a statement said they incurred loss worth Tk 61 crore due to the violence.
The main targets of this attack were the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and Bangladesh Police, he said.
"Three of our policemen sacrificed their lives, they were brutally beaten to death. So not a single person who killed the policemen, who assaulted the police uniform, will be spared," he said.
Biplob said the violence and sabotage that took place in the capital in last few days and the way the police and other government establishments were set on fire by BNP and Jamaat to divert students' protests to a different direction.
"We are determined to bring all of them to book," he said.
Police arrested 179 people in 16 cases in Rajshahi district and metropolis in connection with the violence and vandalism surrounding the quota reform movement.
A case was filed against 20 students of Rajshahi University in connection with vandalism at dormitories and burning of bikes of Chhatra League leaders and activists, said Rajshahi District Police spokesman and Additional Superintendent of Police (DSB) Md Rafiqul Alam.
He said nine cases of vandalism and violence surrounding the quota reform movement were filed with police stations in Rajshahi.
"So far 86 people have been arrested after preliminary interrogation; legal action will be taken against those arrested," Rafiqul Alam said.
Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) Spokesman and Additional Deputy Commissioner Jamirul Islam said that a total of seven cases of vandalism and violence surrounding the quota reform movement were filed with Boalia, Motihar and Chandrima police stations of Rajshahi city till Monday.
Police arrested 93 people till Tuesday afternoon in these cases.
On July 17, the organising secretary of Chhatra League, Quayum Mia, filed a case against 20 students of Rajshahi University with Motihar police station.
In the case statement, it was mentioned that goods worth about Tk 67,30,000 were looted, said Motihar police station Officer-in-Charge Sheikh Md Mubarak Parvez.
The accused are Salauddin Ammar student of Islamic Studies department, Tofail Ahmed Tapu of Economics, Fazle Rabbi of Biochemistry, Mahadi Hasan Mahir of Arabic, Mahadi Hasan Maruf of Population Sciences, Mehdi Sajib of Sociology, Ashikur Rahman of Philosophy, Shah Paran of Mass Communication and Journalism, Dewan Bandhan of Accountancy and Information Systems, Tanvir Ahmed Ridham of Ceramics, Mominul Haque of Economics, Abul Kalam of Netrakona, Abdullah Al Mehdi of Public Administration, Al Muhi Ferdous of Economics, Shahriar Palash of Chemistry, Anarul of Pharmacy, Naim and Hasibul of Mirzapur area of the city, Habibur and Ashiqur Rahman of Budhpara and Shahriar Ahmed of Kajla and many others are unknown.
Earlier, on the afternoon of July 16, protesting students entered the campus with sticks in hand. After going around the campus with the protest, the angry students vandalized the rooms of some Chhatra League leaders.
At this time several bikes were also set on fire. The agitators searched the halls of the BCL and recovered various lethal weapons including firearms and submitted them to the university administration.
