Tensions rise in Bangladesh as students reject PM's call for dialogue

Tension gripped Bangladesh afresh on Saturday after leaders of the student movement refused Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's invitation for talks while protesters laid siege on major streets in the capital, days after more than 200 people died in anti-quota protests.

Bangladesh recently witnessed violent clashes between the police and mostly student protesters demanding an end to a controversial quota system that reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971.

Witnesses said students protesting blocked major roads of Dhaka causing traffic snarls while officials said security forces were ordered to keep intensified vigil as protesters started rallying at different city points.

On Friday, Prime Minister Hasina urged the agitating students to meet at her Ganabhaban official residence for talks to end the violence over the quota system in government jobs.

Her call came a day after new protests erupted on Friday, ..