Several thousand protesters, said to be students from different colleges, have vandalised Dhaka National Medical College and Hospital at Bakshibazar in Old Dhaka after the death of a student in ‘wrong treatment’.

Police and witnesses said outsiders, including students of Dr Mahbubur Rahman Molla College and some other colleges, gathered with sticks in front of the hospital around 1pm following the death of a student of Mahbubur Rahman College while undergoing treatment there and ransacked it, leaving at least 20 people injured.

As some students of Government Suhrawardy College tried to prevent the unruly students, they vandalised an office room of Suhrawardy College, a private car on the college premises and Kobi Nazrul Islam College.

The protests triggered traffic chaos in the adjacent areas of Bakshibazar, causing suffering to commuters.

Additional police forces were deployed to maintain law and order and army personnel were seen attempting to calm the protesters inside the gate.

Several journalists were harassed by students, reportedly led by the students of Dr. Mahbubur Rahman Mollah College, while they were covering news about the attacks and vandalism at educational institutions in Old Dhaka.

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According to police and witnesses, Zakir Hossain, a multimedia reporter for Daily Ittefaq, was subjected to harassment. His phone was damaged and his microphone was broken.

Similarly, Asadul Islam, a correspondent for Daily Amader Barta, and Jannatun Nayem, a correspondent for Bangladesher Khobor, had their mobile phones seized.

The footage from their phones was deleted before the devices were returned.

Aman Nabi, a multimedia reporter for Daily Kalbela, was also among the journalists who faced harassment.

Several other reporters covering the incident were reportedly intimidated and faced similar treatment.