A nationwide curfew was imposed in Bangladesh after days of unrest and police success in suppressing student-led protests that have left more than 100 people dead.

The protesters are demanding an end to a quota system that reserves up to 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971 against Pakistan. Alleging that the system is discriminatory and benefits supporters of Hasina, the protestors are calling for scrapping the system with immediate effect.

The situation in the country has worsened this week, forcing authorities to halt bus and train services and close schools and colleges across the country.

Now, military forces have been deployed to help the civilian administration maintain order. The announcement to impose a curfew was made by Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the ruling Awami League party, and came after police and security officials fired on protesters on Friday and banned all gatherings in the nation’s capital.

The government has decided to impose a curfew and deploy the army to provide assistance to civilians, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s press secretary Nai Mul Islam Khan was quoted as saying by AFP.

Indians return home

India, on Friday, described the violent protests in Bangladesh as an “internal” matter of Dhaka but at the same time said it was closely monitoring the situation in the context of 15,000 Indians residing in that country. External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said that 15,000 Indians, including 8,500 students, residing in Bangladesh are safe.

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Despite the assurance, over 360 more citizens of India, Nepal and Bhutan, on Friday, crossed over to Meghalaya from Bangladesh, taking the total number of people taking refuge in the state to over 670, officials said.

A senior official of the Home Department said that 363 people have reached Meghalaya through Ducky Integrated Check Post, out of which 204 are Indians, 158 are Nepalese and one person is from Bhutan.

According to media reports, many of the students who returned to India were pursuing MBBS degrees.