Dhaka: Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to ensure the unconditional release of students who were arrested during their recent demonstration seeking safe roads.

In a statement, he also demanded taking legal action against those spread rumours and tried to divert the student movement towards a different direction. ‘I request the Prime Minister to immediately free the arrested students.’

‘Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is like a mother to the innocent students. She could realise that our children have opened up our eyes. She also accepted the students’ demand without any delay with her motherly knowledge,’ the Jatiya Party chief said.

Ershad, also the special envoy to the Prime Minister, further said, ‘The arrested students should be released at least for showing respect to her (PM’s) such generosity.’

Stating that untoward incidents can take place anywhere during such a big, justified and successful movement, he said some students can get involved with such incidents out of their ignorance during their agitation.

‘But they also went back home and classes when they were requested. It won’t be right to arrest students who waged the movement as people of all walks of life, irrespective of party and opinion, greeted the students,’ he observed.

Ershad, also a former military ruler, called upon the Prime Minister to pardon the students out of her motherly affection if they made any mistake.

Students took to the streets and continued their agitation for over a week seeking safe roads after a bus ploughed through a group of students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin School and College at Airport Road on July 29, killing two of them - Diya Khanam Mim and Abdul Karim Rajib-and injuring some others.

During the movement, police arrested some students and filed several cases against them on charge of indulging in violence.