Shillong/IBNS: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has said 63 students from his state have returned from Bangladesh, which is reeling under violent protests against the quota system in government jobs, media reports said.

Sangma posted on X, "Amidst the ongoing protests in Bangladesh, the Meghalaya government is working closely with the Bangladesh High Commission & Indian High Commission to ensure the safety of students. 161 Indian students, including 63 from Meghalaya, have been safely evacuated so far!"

The state government has created a desk to assist the students who are returning from Bangladesh.

Sangma informed students from Nepal and Bhutan have also been evacuated to Meghalaya from the South Asian country.

Hasina govt imposes curfew, orders army deployment

The Bangladesh government has imposed a countrywide curfew and deployed troops as at least 105 deaths have been reported so far since Friday morning in violent protests and clashes over the government job quota system, media reports said.

Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina decided to deploy the army on Friday night during a 14-party meeting at Ganobhaban. The curfew is in place till midnight.

Bangladesh's government has already shut down internet services across the country.

Television news channels in Bangladesh were off the air and telecommunications were widely disrupted as violent student protests against quotas for government jobs continued to rock the country.

Student protesters stormed a jail in the central Bangladeshi district of Narsingdi and freed the facility’s inmates before setting it on fire.

Police struggled to quell unrest, with huge rallies in Dhaka despite a police ban on public gatherings.

On Thursday, a state broadcaster's building was put on blaze as relentless violence gripped the South Asian country following multiple clashes between the protesters, security officials and pro-government protesters.

Eyewitnesses told Prothom Alo that more than a hundred people entered BTV headquarters by breaking the main gate.

The protest began on July 1 after the High Court's reinstatement of the freedom fighters' quota.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already appealed to students to end the protest.

Law minister Anisul Huq said the government would sit with the demonstrators.

"I have told the attorney general to appeal to the court on Sunday for an early hearing in this regard," he was quoted as saying by Prothom Alo.