The Indian High Commission in Dhaka on Thursday issued an advisory urging Indian citizens and students in Bangladesh to avoid local travel and minimise movement amid rising tensions in the country over the reinstatement of a controversial quota system in government jobs.

The advisory came as thousands of anti-quota protestors clashed with the police and members of the ruling Awami League party’s student wing in recent days, The Indian Express reported.

At least seven persons were killed and over 500 others injured across the country in the last two days during the clashes, AFP reported.

The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led government has ordered the indefinite closure of schools and universities amid the demonstrations. Hasina also said on Wednesday that the government will form a judicial committee to investigate the killings, Reuters reported.

On Thursday, the Indian High Commission shared helpline numbers and said: “The Indian community members and the Indian students residing in Bangladesh are advised to avoid travel and minimise their movement outside their living premises.”

University campuses across Bangladesh have been gripped by protests since the beginning of July. The protests are in response to a High Court ruling in June that reinstated the 30% quota in government jobs for family members of freedom fighters of the 1971 Bangladeshi Liberation War.

The reservation system, which was abolished in 2018 following widespread protests, has rekindled anger among young job seekers and students who fear that they are being deprived of opportunities because of the quota.

The Hasina-led Awami League government has been in power uninterrupted since 2009.

In January, the Awami League won 222 out of the 300 elected parliamentary seats in the general election amid violence.

With the main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party boycotting the polls, the Awami League did not face any significant competition in the seats it contested.

Dhaka has been accused by countries such as the United States and rights groups of political violence, human rights violations and election manipulation.

The Hasina government has for long denied allegations of involvement in human rights abuses and election rigging.

Also read: ‘We are Razakars’: In Bangladesh, youth protesting a quota for jobs openly call Hasina an ‘autocrat’