Clashes erupt between 47th BCS examinees and police in Shahbagh

Police and 47th BCS candidates were locked in a chase-and-counter-chase near the Shahbagh intersection on Tuesday night, leaving around 30 people injured, including the officer-in-charge of Shahbagh Police Station.

As of 6:30pm, the confrontation was still underway.

Earlier at noon, the demonstrators began a march toward the Chief Adviser’s Office in Jamuna, demanding that the 27 November written exams for the 47th BCS be postponed.

Police intercepted them at Shahbagh, where the protesters staged a sit-in and gave law enforcers until 5pm to remove the barricades.

Tensions escalated around 4:30pm when police moved in to disperse the crowd, triggering clashes. Some accounts suggest the protesters attempted to force their way through the barricades, prompting police resistance.

Police used water cannons and sound grenades to break up the gathering, while protesters hurled brickbats. Several officers, including Shahbagh OC Khaled Mansur, sustained injuries from brick fragments, he told reporters.

Protesters, meanwhile, claimed that about 25 of them were injured after police charged at them “without provocation.”

The demonstrators later regrouped at TSC and the Dhaka University Central Library around 6:15pm, Mansur said. They eventually moved toward the Institute of Fine Arts along the Shahbagh–TSC road, which has been closed to traffic amid heightened tensions.

The protesters are demanding a postponement of the exams, arguing they need more time to prepare. They say previous BCS batches received six months to a year for exam preparations, whereas the current timeline is significantly shorter.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) has rejected these claims, stating that the written exam schedule was announced on 3 June, giving candidates the six months they are currently asking for. PSC officials insist the allegation that candidates had only two months to prepare is incorrect.

The commission also notes that only a segment of the examinees is pushing for a postponement, while many others have continued their studies and even submitted memorandums opposing any delay.