India advises citizens in Bangladesh to avoid travel amid violent protests

India on Thursday advised its citizens in Bangladesh to avoid travel and restrict their movements after six people were killed in violent protests over quotas in government jobs.

The advisory was issued by the Indian high commission in Dhaka two days after the protests spread to more cities across Bangladesh and turned violent.

The Bangladesh government on Wednesday ordered the closure of schools and universities across the country as the protests are being spearheaded by students.

“In view of the ongoing situation in Bangladesh, the Indian community members and the Indian students residing in Bangladesh are advised to avoid travel and minimize their movement outside their living premises,” the advisory said.

Indian citizens were advised to contact the high commission in Dhaka or the assistant high commissions in Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi and Sylhet in case of “any urgency or need for assistance”.

There are about 10,000 Indian nationals, including some 7,000 students, in Bangladesh, according to official figures. Many of the students are from Kashmir and are enrolled in medical courses. There have been no reports of any Indian casualties so far.

The protestors are calling for the ending of a quota system that reserves more than half of civil service jobs for specific groups, including the children of veterans of Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence against Pakistan.

Critics say the reservations mostly benefit groups of people aligned with the ruling Awami League party of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The protests escalated and turned violent on Tuesday, when protestors and pro-government student groups clashed in several cities and police dispersed them with teargas and rubber bullets.

Two persons died in Dhaka, three in Chittagong and one in Rangpur, Bangladeshi police officials said.

The Indian high commission provided phone and WhatsApp numbers for Indians to reach out to the five missions for help.

Bangladesh’s law minister Anisul Huq said on Thursday he and the education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury had been directed by Prime Minister Hasina to hold talks with the protestors to resolve the situation.

Huq’s announcement came as the protestors continued a countrywide shutdown.