A group of students staged a sit-in protest and laid siege to Shahbagh Police Station on Friday, demanding the swift arrest of those involved in the murder of Shahriar Alam Shammo, a student of the Institute of Education and Research (IER) at the University of Dhaka. They also called for a fair trial and the establishment of a safer campus environment.The protest, organised under the banner of Bangladesher Sadharon Chhatrasamaj (General Student Community of Bangladesh), began at 12 PM on Friday (May 16).

Protesters initially gathered in front of the IER building. From there, they marched to the Raju Sculpture on campus, where they held a brief rally. Afterward, the students proceeded to Shahbagh Police Station and began a sit-in demonstration.Ibrahim Munshi, a student from the 27th batch of the IER, said: “This is a non-partisan movement. Political groups are trying to use Shammo’s death for their own agendas, mainly by demanding resignations of several individuals. But our primary demand is justice for Shammo’s murder. It has been 72 hours since he was stabbed, yet the main accused has not been arrested. We are not here to attack anyone or demand resignations. We are here to demand justice. If the remaining perpetrators are not arrested within 48 hours, we will escalate to a full blockade of Shahbagh Police Station.”

Shammo’s classmate, Taufique-ul-Islam, added: “The prime accused has not been arrested yet. We don’t even see any serious effort to catch him. The ones who have been arrested may be involved, but they are not the main culprit. Authorities must be held accountable for why the others haven’t been arrested yet. If arrests are not made within 48 hours, this peaceful protest will turn into something bigger.”

Protesters also said that a delegation from the movement had entered the police station to speak with officials. The delegation included IER faculty members Dr Md Abdus Salam, Dr Asim Das, and Dr Md Sirajul Islam.