Dhaka, Bangladesh—Protesters set fire to the headquarters of Bangladesh’s main state broadcaster BTV on Thursday with “many people” trapped inside its offices, the network said.
An official at the station, speaking to Agence France Presse (AFP) on condition of anonymity, said that hundreds of protesters had stormed the premises, setting alight at least 60 vehicles and an office building.
“They first torched a police post at Rampura after police opened fire at them,” he said, referring to a neighborhood in the capital Dhaka.
“They chased the police officers when they took refuge at the BTV office. Angry protesters then caused mayhem here.”
A post on BTV’s verified Facebook page said the fire was “catastrophic” and “spreading fast.”
“We seek the cooperation of the Fire Service. Many people are trapped inside,” the broadcaster said.
Bangladesh’s police force has this week stepped up a violent crackdown on weekslong student protests demanding reforms to civil service hiring rules.
The death toll in ongoing Bangladeshi student protests reached 32 on Thursday night, according to an AFP count of victims from hospitals around the country.
“We’ve got seven dead here,” an official at Uttara Crescent Hospital in the capital Dhaka, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, told AFP, adding to 25 previously reported casualties.
“The first two were students with rubber bullet injuries. The other five had gunshot injuries.”
