Bangladesh Army foils Milestone College student's Diabari protest plans, govt delegates forced to hold talks at campus

Students are protesting at the Milestone School and College campus in Dhaka's Uttara where a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed on Monday. The two advisors of the interim government that visited the campus on Tuesday were surrounded by the protesting students, Bangladeshi media reports said.

 

When the government representatives – Legal Advisor Asif Nazrul and Education Advisor C. R. Abrar – set out to leave Milestone around 10:30 am, the students arrived with protests. This forced them to hold a meeting with student representatives at the college campus. Hundreds of students took part in the agitation, news reports said.

 

The students demand the disclosure of the exact number of victims, their identification, a complete and accurate list of the injured, compensation for the students' families, and the replacement of the risky and old training aircraft used by the Air Force, Prothom Alo said in a report.

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The news report added that Milestone students had planned to hold a sit-in on campus. At around 9:15 am, the Diabari Army Camp announced that meetings, sit-ins, gatherings or protest programmes of similar nature were prohibited in the Diabari roundabout and surrounding areas, the report added.

 

A Bangladesh Air Force F-7 BGI training fighter jet crashed into a building at Milestone School and College on Monday afternoon. At least 27 students have been killed while 78 people are undergoing treatment at four different hospitals. Those dead included 25 children, a teacher and the pilot.

 

The government announced a day of mourning, with flags at half-mast and special prayers at all places of worship. The F-7 BGI is the final and most advanced variant in China's Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane's Information Group. Bangladesh signed a contract for 16 aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013.

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