47th BCS Protesters Issue 12-Hour Ultimatum, Threaten Nationwide Blockade Over Exam Postponement

Job seekers demanding the postponement of the 47th BCS written examination have issued a 12-hour ultimatum, setting a deadline of 11 am on November 26 for authorities to meet their demand. If the request is not fulfilled, the protesters have announced they will enforce a nationwide blockade across all eight divisions.

The announcement was made by a BCS exam candidate, Sharif Uddin, on behalf of the protesters at approximately 9:45 pm on November 25.

Sharif Uddin stated that due to a police action that left 10 to 15 protesters injured and hospitalized, they cannot sit for the scheduled exam and are boycotting the written test starting on November 27.

The 11 am deadline was given based on an assurance from the police to arrange a meeting with the PSC Chairman or take the protesters to Jamuna (the location where the earlier clash occurred). If no solution is reached by the deadline, the nationwide blockade will be enforced.

University students in Dhaka will continue their sit-in protest at Shahbagh. The job seekers began their protest at Shahbagh at 1 pm. Clashes erupted around 5 pm when they attempted a march from the Central Shaheed Minar toward Jamuna. Police used water cannons and sound grenades to disperse the crowd, who later regrouped near the National Museum in Shahbagh around 6 pm.

Protesters claimed at least 25 people were injured and demanded the resignation of Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman Professor Mobasser Monem in protest against the police action.

Shahbagh Police Station Officer-in-Charge Khaled Mansur stated that the protesters initiated the violence by throwing bricks at the police, resulting in his own injury.

The 47th BCS written exams are scheduled to begin simultaneously on November 27 across eight divisions. Out of 3,74,747 candidates who took the preliminary exam on September 19, a total of 10,644 passed.