Bangladesh unrest: Govt says three student leaders taken into custody for their own safety

The Bangladesh government said on Saturday (July 27) that three student leaders who were protesting against thecivil service job quotas had been taken into custody for their own safety. On Friday,Students Against Discrimination head Nahid Islam and two other senior members of the protest group were forcibly discharged from the hospital they were admittedand taken away by a group of plainclothes detectives.

A report by the news agency AFP said that these three student protestersprecipitated a police crackdown and days of running clashes between officers and protesters that killed at least 201 people.

Earlier this week, Islam, one of the student leaders arrest, told AFP that he was being treated at a hospital in Dhakafor injuries sustained during an earlier round of police detention.

'Student leaders were receiving threats'

Police initially denied that Islam and the two other student leaders were taken into custody before Bangladesh Home MinisterAsaduzzaman Khan confirmed the development.

Addressing a press conference, Home Minister Khan said"They themselves were feeling insecure. They think thatsome people were threatening them."

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"That's why we think for their own security they needed to be interrogated to find out who was threatening them. After the interrogation, we will take the next course of action," Khan added.

The home ministerdid not confirm whether the trio had been formally arrested.

At least 4,500 arrested since unrest began

Unrest in Bangladesh began when police and pro-government student groups attacked street rallies organised by Students Against Discrimination that had remained largely peaceful before last week.

The unrest saw torching of government buildings,and police posts in Dhaka, and fierce street fights between protesters and riot police elsewhere in the country.

The government deployedtroops, instituted a nationwide internet blackout, and imposed a curfew to restore order.Police have arrested at least 4,500 people since the unrest began.

(With inputs from agencies)