BANGLADESHI authorities have shut down mobile internet across swathes of the country, said officials and local media today, as they try to quell massive student protests that have spiralled into violence.

Over the last week, students have brought parts of the capital, Dhaka, to a standstill with protests against poor road safety after two teenagers were killed by a speeding bus.

Yesterday, the protests took a violent turn in Dhaka’s Jigatala neighbourhood, with more than 100 people injured.

Witnesses said police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators, and that alleged pro-government activists attacked youngsters, including some of those rushing to nearby hospitals for treatment.

The country’s highest-circulated newspaper, Prothom Alo, said 3G and 4G internet services have been shut down for 24 hours since yesterday, shortly after the violence broke out.

Social media has been filled with comments from Bangladeshis unable to access the internet via their phones, although wireless and wired networks appear to be unhindered.

Jahirul Haq, chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC), told AFP that it had received a “decision” from the government.

But, he did not clarify what the government order was. He said he will comment further on the situation later today.

A senior telecoms official, who requested anonymity, said: “BTRC has slowed down the internet at the order of the government.”

The move may be an attempt to try and limit the ability of students to mobilise or spread online outrage over how the government has handled the protests, hours after police and unidentified men wielding sticks clashed with students.

Images of the attacks on students, allegedly by ruling-party activists, have flooded social media, prompting renewed outrage.

Police have denied that they fired rubber bullets or tear gas at the protesters. However, hospital staff said dozens of people were injured, some seriously, sporting injuries consistent with rubber bullets.

The ruling Awami League party has denied allegations that its cadres beat up students.

Bangladesh’s transport sector is widely seen as corrupt, unregulated and dangerous, and as news of the teenagers’ deaths spread rapidly on social media, they became a catalyst for an outpouring of anger against the government. – AFP, August 5, 2018.