Dhaka (Web Desk/Agencies) Bangladesh on Friday announced the imposition of a curfew and the deployment of military forces after police failed to quell days of deadly unrest that has spread throughout the country.
The curfew has been imposed with immediate effect.
According to international media reports, this week's clashes between student demonstrators and police have killed at least 110 people.
More than 2500 people have also been injured in the clashes between police and students, including 104 policemen and 30 journalists.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the attacks on student protesters were "shocking and unacceptable".
"There must be impartial, prompt and exhaustive investigations into these attacks, and those responsible held to account," he said in a statement.
The capital's police force earlier said protesters had on Thursday torched, vandalised and carried out "destructive activities" on numerous police and government offices.
Among them was the Dhaka headquarters of state broadcaster Bangladesh Television, which remains offline after hundreds of incensed students stormed the premises and set fire to a building.
Near-daily marches this month have called for an end to a quota system that reserves more than half of civil service posts for specific groups, including children of veterans from the country's 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.
Critics say the scheme benefits children of pro-government groups that back Hasina, 76, who has ruled the country since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.
Hasina's government is accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including by the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists.
As per the international media reports, authorities imposed a nationwide internet shutdown on Thursday which remains in effect, severely hampering communication in and out of Bangladesh.
Government websites remain offline and major newspapers including The Dhaka Tribune and Daily Star have been unable to update their social media platforms since Thursday.
Bangladesh Television, the state broadcaster, also remains offline after its Dhaka headquarters was set on fire by protesters the same day.
