Staff Correspondent

Miscreants attacked the building of BTV, Bangladesh's national television station, in the name of the anti-quota movement and unrest at 3 pm on July 18.

After receiving the information, the nearby Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) patrol team quickly reached the spot. However, the patrol team's manpower was minimal compared to the thousands of criminals. By that time, the incident of arson had occurred. Thousands of miscreants surrounded the building of Bangladesh Television.

The members of the first group of BGB tried to control the situation through negotiations. However, the anarchists kept them under siege and threatened to burn them to death. In this situation, another team from BGB left Pilkhana to go towards the BTV building in Rampura. A relatively strong contingent, including a strengthened personnel carrier and a riot control vehicle, ran into a barricade after reaching Hatirjhil. After leaving the car there, the group left for the spot-on foot. Thousands of disorderly people are on the streets across the city—obstacles in the way. The second team reached the BTV building after crossing all hurdles in combats and chases.

The leader of the marching party made a desperate attempt to pacify the local unruly crowd and tried to reconcile with them. During the discussion, BGB sneaked into the BTV compound. They took out the saboteurs inside one by one, but thousands of angry people were outside. BTV surrounded the building from all sides. BGB members were given 15 minutes to recite the Kalema and threatened with setting fire. The BGB headquarters decided to increase the force as soon as the situation became chaotic.

Another group left for Rampura. After several clashes throughout the night, the situation calmed down a bit in the middle of the night. The situation turned chaotic again after Friday prayers on July 19. Rampura, Aftab Nagar, Badda, and surrounding areas started gathering people to occupy BTV by miking the vested quarter—a few hundred soldiers against thousands of attackers. The attack was repulsed by setting up three blocks on TV Road, Merul Badda, and Banashree Road centered on TV Bhaban. Saboteurs occupied Rampura police station, police outpost, PBI office, and Ansar camp and set them ablaze. Attempts were also made to burn Ansar members alive by setting them on fire from outside the Ansar camp.

The BGB members controlled the situation using intelligence, tactics, and experience. In this way, they resisted the saboteurs' attack, restored the BTV building, and ensured the security of the state establishment. The blueprint of the vested quarter collapsed. For all to know, there was no student program around BTV Bhaban on that day, and the BGB firing was basically a blank round, for which no claim that anyone was killed in the Rampura BTV Bhaban area came from anywhere.