Student bodies blocked a key intersection area of the Shahbagh area ?over what they called the government's failure to arrest the killers of Comilla college student Sohagi Jahan Tonu.
The half-day-long protest, which commenced this morning, was jointly sponsored by the Progressive Students' Alliance and Anti-Imperialist Students' Union, two major left-leaning student alliances. There was a significant response to the protest, reports the Daily Star.
Faisal Mahmud, coordinator of Anti-Imperialist Students' Union, was quoted by the Daily Star, as saying that the hartal programme earned support from all corners of Bangladesh.
Hartal supporters have been attacked in Bogra, Joypurhat, Gazipur. Some of the activists have been detained there.
Comilla's Victoria College student Tonu's bloody body was found inside the Comilla Cantonment area on March 20. Though a month has passed, the government has not taken any action to identify the killers.
Students said that their hartal is a protest against abuse and repression on all women in the country.
