At least 50 individuals have been killed in Bangladesh as police intensified their crackdown on student protests advocating for reforms in public service hiring practices.


In a significant escalation of the ongoing student demonstrations in Bangladesh, protesters stormed a prison in the central district of Narsingdi on Friday, liberating hundreds of inmates before setting the facility ablaze. 


A police officer, who requested anonymity, informed AFP, "The inmates fled the jail, and the protesters set the jail on fire." The officer estimated that hundreds of prisoners managed to escape.


Ripon, a local resident, reported seeing at least 20 men leaving the jail with their belongings in handbags.


This jailbreak occurred amidst a brutal crackdown on the student protests that have spread across Bangladesh, resulting in at least 50 fatalities this week. Initially fueled by discontent over government job quotas, the protests have evolved into a larger movement against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration. Analysts suggest that the unrest is now being further driven by broader economic issues, such as soaring inflation, rising unemployment, and dwindling foreign exchange reserves.


On Friday, the violence continued with fresh clashes leading to three more deaths. Authorities attempted to curb the unrest by disrupting telecommunications, including cutting mobile services, though they denied any link to a global cyber outage.


Tarique Rahman, the exiled acting chairman of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), expressed his support for the protesters on the social media platform X, calling on people to support the students and continue the movement.


"I urge all leaders, activists, and the general public to stand with these students, offer them full support, and carry this movement forward," Tarique Rahman posted on X.


With youth unemployment high and inflation out of control, the protests have struck a chord with widespread public frustration.


These protests have reopened deep and sensitive political divisions between those who fought for Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971 and those accused of collaborating with Islamabad. Prime Minister Hasina's Awami League party has labeled the protesters as "razakar," a term historically used to describe collaborators during the independence war.