Students of Alia Madrasa stage a blockade at Bakshibazar in Old Dhaka

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Chawkbazar Police Station, Md. Rezaul Hossain, reported on the blockade. According to the OC, students prevented police from entering the premises of Alia Madrasa, where law enforcement remains stationed.

Since yesterday morning, family members and relatives of the convicted and dismissed BDR members have been holding a sit-in, demanding the release of those convicted in the Peelkhana massacre case, a re-investigation of the incident, and justice. They are also calling for the reinstatement and rehabilitation of dismissed personnel. The dismissed BDR members have announced plans to blockade Shahbagh today.

The Peelkhana massacre occurred on February 25 and 26, 2009, when 57 army officers were killed at the Pilkhana headquarters of the then-Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), now renamed the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).