Bangladesh descended into a full-blown crisis on Friday night with the declaration of a nationwide curfew and the deployment of the military to quell the turbulent anti-quota movement whose toll has reportedly risen to 105.

The moves signalled the Sheikh Hasina government's intent to take the political elements in the quota reforms movement head-on.

"The Prime Minister met leaders of 14 parties this evening, where the decision to deploy the armed forces and impose a curfew across the country with immediate effect was taken," Nayeemul Islam Khan, press secretary to the Prime Minister, told The Telegraph over phone.

Responding to a question on whether the strife had claimed 105 lives, as reported in sections of the media, Khan said the claims were wrong, but did not offer any concrete casualty figure.

As violence peaked amid suspicion that Opposition forces like the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami had infiltrated the ranks of the protesting students, there were questions why the government was not deploying the armed forces.

Khan said that leaders of Awami League allies like the Workers' Party and the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, prevailed upon Hasina to deploy the armed forces and impose a curfew to restore peace.

“It has been decided that the army will remain subservient to the police and the civil administration,” Khan said, adding that the government was keen on keeping a check on the activities of the men in uniform at a time the country was witnessing unprecedented violence.

The Indian establishment kept a close watch on the turmoil in the neighbouring country as the Sheikh Hasina government struggled to buy peace with the protesters.

New Delhi was counting the possible diplomatic cost for India as what began as a protest by a few hundred students in Dhaka 72 hours ago snowballed into a nationwide rebellion against the Awami League government.

India remains one of the most trusted allies of Bangladesh, with which it shares a 4,000km border that remains peaceful unlike the western frontier, although China has been aggressively wooing Hasina in recent years.

However, movements against Hasina, perceived as pro-India in her country, have tended to trigger sweeping anti-India sentiments in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. The Indian establishment is therefore apprehensive about the impact that the current wave of protests may have on regional geopolitics.

“Whatever the fallout, we have to support Hasina as there is no other option in Bangladesh with whom we can engage,” a source in the ruling BJP said.

The India-Bangladesh relationship has made remarkable progress in recent years with both countries expanding the scale of cooperation across a range of areas. Hasina’s two India trips over the last one month — the first for Narendra Modi’s swearing-in and the second a bilateral visit — further deepened the ties with the two countries signing several agreements.

“Bangladesh has allowed India transit facility via rail, road and river for better connectivity with the northeastern states. A rise in anti-India sentiments in Bangladesh can derail the transit treaty,” a source in the Indian security establishment said.

Some videos on YouTube show groups of Bangladeshis demanding an end to India’s access to railways, roads and rivers in their country.

The course of the quota protest — demanding the withdrawal of the 30 per cent reservation in government jobs for relatives of the 1971 freedom fighters — suggests the possibility of India becoming collateral damage.

India is inextricably linked to the 1971 Liberation War that gave birth to Bangladesh. New Delhi had sided with the freedom fighters (muktijoddhas) against the Pakistan army and its local agents (Razakars, a derogatory word) who had opposed the freedom movement.

“Who are you and who am I — Razakar Razakar,” has been a slogan echoing for the past few days across some of the elite campuses in Bangladesh, from Dhaka University and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology to Chattogram University and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology.

“If Bangladeshi students wear the Razakar tag as a badge of honour, it sends the wrong message. If today’s generation is not respectful of the war heroes, the idea of Bangladesh gets defeated. That means India’s role in the Liberation War is also demeaned,” a source who tracks developments in Bangladesh said.

“Don’t forget that these protesting youths, aged 15 to 30, will rule the country over the next 40 to 50 years. The anti-India sentiments may not be new, but this disregard for the Liberation War is scary and augurs ill for our relationship.”

Officially, the Indian establishment termed the developments in Bangladesh “an internal matter of the country”.

“We have issued an advisory for Indian nationals, including our students, resident in Bangladesh for their safety and assistance if required. Helpline numbers operating on a 24x7 basis have been given for people to reach out,” foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in Delhi.

He said the Indian high commission in Dhaka was in touch with local authorities for the safety of the about 15,000 Indians in Bangladesh, who include around 8,500 students.

Day after

With phone lines and the Internet down — possibly a government measure — Bangladesh was virtually cut off from the world a day after it witnessed the most violent student protests in recent memory.

Train and ferry services remained suspended. Reports said some airlines, such as Emirates, had cancelled flights to and from Dhaka.

Authorities had hoped there would not be any major trouble on Friday, a holiday and a day of prayer. But several parts of Dhaka — including Rampura, Mohammedpur, Mirpur, Uttara, Jatrabari and Badda — saw intense clashes between law enforcers and the protesters.

Protesters gathered across campuses and went on the rampage damaging public buildings, such as a passport office in Narayanganj, and Awami League offices across the country.

BBC Bangla reported that an attack by protesters on the convoy of a former mayor of Gazipur, close to Dhaka, in the afternoon claimed the life of one of his aides. Protesters also attacked a correctional home in Narsingdi, around 45km from Dhaka, and freed hundreds of prisoners.

Questions are being asked why the government — which has deployed 300 platoons of the paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh across the country — has not called in the army.

A source from Dhaka said the government had kept the armed forces restricted to the barracks to avoid precipitating a fresh crisis.