Dhaka, the teeming metropolis located pretty much smack in the centre of Bangladesh, can play havoc with your nerves at the best of times. A regular at the wrong end of The Economist's Most Liveable Cities index (i.e. it's among the most unliveable ones), it is frequently chaotic on its own, with woeful traffic and unplanned urbanisation coming up against a massive daily influx of people from rural areas looking for jobs that aren't really available. About the only guarantee is choking on the city's eyewatering pollution. It's also a den of vector-borne diseases.

In recent times, specifically in the period since August 5, when the autocratic government of Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a student-led mass uprising, Dhaka has also become riven by a strange new phenomenon of almost any group with a grievance or complaint gathering to occupy some corner of the city to rally for their demands, or protest against the conditions they face. While this has been viewed as the legitimate expression of the people's democratic freedoms after an extended period of repression, the delicate law and order situation exacerbated by hollowing out of the police has meant this has led to several flare ups and things have often spiralled out of control. What has started in Dhaka has then often spread to other parts of the country, compounding the instability.

Now there are legitimate concerns that some of these groups were not exercising their legitimate right to protest. Ostensibly, they may have done that. But their real intent was to cause frictions that would lead to fresh open wounds becoming exposed and stoke instability. The potential for this was never greater than it was this past week. Where the protesters' interests have been suspected to be less than genuine, it is the hand of the ousted dictator that people have found as somehow involved. Certainly no one has more to gain from the failure of the interim government to satisfy the people.

The fact that this is happening - attempts to gather people in the capital under the pretence of protest, but with intentions that are far more subversive in reality, came to the fore this week with the discovery of the previously unknown group calling itself Ahingsa Gana-Abhyutthan Bangladesh (Non-violent Uprising Bangladesh). On Monday, November 25, the platform conspired to lure people to Dhaka from different districts with false promises of interest-free loans.

The platform was going to hold a big gathering in the city to create a chaotic situation as part of a plot against the interim government, according to law enforcement agencies. The plan was to gather one million people at Shahbagh in the capital by promising Tk1 lakh loans to participants. They claimed they would bring back laundered money from abroad and distribute loans only to those who attended the rally. Preying on the hardships and naivety of people living in rural areas, this despicable plan almost worked.

Starting on Sunday night - happening over the same timeframe that college students had turned parts of the capital into warzones (see below) - people from across the country began arriving in Dhaka via buses, pick-up trucks and microbuses headed toward Shahbagh. Some vehicles even came with banners titled "Grand rally at Shahbagh."

The passengers came with some printed leaflets that identified Mostafa Amin as the convener. A woman who came from Narayanganj by bus said she was told that attending the Shahbagh rally would entitle her to a loan of Tk1 lakh, repayable at Tk3,000-4,000 monthly.

"They misled rural people into believing they would receive Tk1 lakh in loans for attending the rally. We did not allow them to gather," said OC Shahabuddin Shahin of Shahbagh police station.

In fact they were noticed and first apprehended by Dhaka University students.

Information and Broadcasting Adviser Md Nahid Islam told reporters on Monday evening: "People have been brought to Shahbagh from outside Dhaka by propaganda. The organiser has been taken into police custody already."

Nahid, one of the central leaders of the students who led the July-August movement, was alert to what the discovery portends, even if no crime was committed eventually as the conspiracy was foiled.

"I don't think so many incidents in one day are a coincidence," he said, while speaking at the Foreign Service Academy. "There is a conspiracy to disrupt the government's work and defeat the government's goals. There are also some national and international issues. The investigation is going on as to who is involved in these matters. Action will be taken according to the law."

Police have filed a case against 1,219 individuals, including ABM Mostafa Amin, the convener of Ahinsha Gonabhutyhan (Non-violent Uprising) accusing them of creating unrest by promising interest-free loans to villagers.

Sub-Inspector Harun-ur-Rashid of Shahbagh police station lodged the case on Monday night. The case details allege that on November 25, the organisation conspired to lure people to Dhaka from various districts with false promises of interest-free loans.

They unlawfully assembled at the Shahbagh intersection, instigated unrest, and disrupted public order. The accused also damaged plastic road dividers used for traffic control, causing an estimated loss of Tk20,000.

Firefighting on banana skins

Forced to engage in firefighting on multiple fronts, the government was bound to get one wrong. And we saw that, with unfortunately lethal consequences, in its handling of the arrest of a previously litttle-known monk, who has been speaking strongly in favour of Hindus asserting their rights as citizens of Bangladesh

Before you could even pat them on the back for successfully foiling the vile conspiracy of Ahinsha Gonabhutyhan, and as a convoy of the Army moved towards Jatrabari to bring the college students in line, Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested Chinmoy Krishna Das, a prominent leader of the country's Hindu community and one-time member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) that same Monday evening (Nov. 25). As spokesperson of the Sanatan Jagaran Manch, and head of Chattogram's Pundarik Dham, Das had organised some rallies of the Hindu community that had taken place recently, and reportedly planned to organise some more.

DMP's Additional Commissioner of Detective Branch (DB), Rezaul Karim Mallik, confirmed Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari's detention at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

He said: "He has been detained based on a requisition related to a complaint. He will be handed over to the concerned police station as per the procedure."

This again prompted protests demanding his release in Shahbagh and Chittagong, where he is based. Members of ISKCON, protesting the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das, were removed from the Shahbagh intersection by locals.

Following their removal, the protesters held a rally at the Raju Sculpture on the Dhaka University campus. Although Das had been expelled from the organisation, ISKCON members announced plans for a nationwide movement and a long march to Dhaka to demand the release of Chinmoy Krishna Das.

The clashes intensified the next day (Tuesday, Nov. 26) on Chattogram, where Das was due to appear in court. Huge crowds gathered on the court premises and sporadic clashes ensued through the day. Amidst these clashes, assistant public prosecutor Saiful Islam Alif, who was not otherwise involved in the case, was gruesomely murdered.While the clashes were mostly between security personnel and followers of the Hindu leader, who was denied bail and sent to jail by a Chittagong court, it was difficult to say who killed Alif, a promising young lawyer. The finger of blame immediately pointed to ISKCON for the murder of the 'Muslim lawyer'. But it would be foolish obviously, to count out another conspiracy here.

Sure enough, based on CCTV footage of the violence, authorities have made at least six arrests directly related to the murder of Alif, while scores were detained for all the other violence taking place throughout the day. Two of the suspected killers have already been shown to have links to the Awami League, or its banned student front, the Chhatra League.

As expected, the arrest of Chinmoy Das prompted an official reaction from New Delhi, and Indian media has been blowing up over its purported significance. It is true that the need to arrest Das, in relation to a case filed on October 30 for disrespecting the national flag at one of the rallies organised by Sanatan Jagaran Manch, was not immediately apparent, and continues to be dubious. But Indian media reports continue to exaggerate facts that suit their narrative of Hindus being persecuted and downplay mitigating factors.

International newsagency Reuters became an unwitting accomplice in the Indian media's hate campaign, by identifying the slain Alif, who was not involved in handling the case, as Chinmoy's defence counsel. Although this was subsequently debunked by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus's press secretary, this came with some disturbing revelations. Alam alleged that police denied having provided the Reuters correspondent with the erroneous information on Alif being Chinmoy's lawyer. Indeed, police denied even speaking to the Reuters correspondent.

That raises the alarming spectre that Reuters had completely made up the quote from one Liaquat Ali, identified in the original story as simply a police officer, neglecting mention of his rank. There has been no further explanation from the agency or their correspondent in Dhaka.

College Royal Rumble

While incidents elsewhere may have been more sensitive and consequential, residents of Dhaka will tell you nothing left them so shaken as the mindless violence that students of several colleges got embroiled in, turning parts of the city into a warzone. No one can make any sense of how and why so many students could start behaving like hooligans or organised gang members.

The first case was filed, on just the first day of the violence, against 8,000 students of different colleges including Dr Mahbubur Rahman Molla College, in connection with the vandalism at National Medical College and Hospital at Bakshibazar in Old Dhaka, after the death of a student was blamed on 'wrong treatment' at the hospital.

Sub-inspector AKM Hasan Mahmudul Kabir filed the case with Sutrapur Police Station on Sunday night (Nov. 24).

Charges including vandalism, two policemen injured, vandalising an armed personnel carrier and stealing a magazine of bullets, were brought against them, said Saiful Islam, in-charge of Sutrapur Police Station on Monday.

On November 16, Abhijit Halder, an HSC student of Demra's Dr Mahbubur Rahman Molla College, was admitted to the medicine department of the National Medical College and Hospital, attached to the National Medical College, with dengue. He died on November 18.

After that students from Molla College and others vandalised the hospital, alleging negligence in treatment of Abhijit.

They also claimed that students from Kabi Nazrul College and Suhrawardy College supported by National Medical College students attacked them.

Later, students from as many as 35 colleges clashed with the students of Kabi Nazrul College and Suhrawardy College, and vandalised property of the two colleges on Sunday, leaving at least 20 people injured.

The 35 colleges include Dr. Mahbubur Rahman Molla College, Dhaka College, Dhaka Ideal College, City College, Giyasuddin College, Government Tolaram College, Imperial College, Borhanuddin College, Science College, Dhaniya College, Lalbagh Government College, Udayan College, Adamjee, Notre Dame, Rajarbagh College, Nur Mohammad, Munshi Abdur Rouf College, Siddheswari College, Green Line Polytechnic, Dhaka Polytechnic, Mahbubur Rahman Institute of Science and Technology, and others from the capital.

The next day (Monday), at least 50 people, including students, were injured in sporadic clashes among the students of three colleges involving Kabi Nazrul College, Suhrawardy College and Dr Mahbubur Rahman Molla College in Dhaka's Demra area.

Meanwhile, Kabi Nazrul College was declared closed for an indefinite period following the mayhem, according to an announcement made in a noticeboard of the college.

Earlier, a clash erupted at Dr Mahbubur Rahman Molla College in Demra as the students of Kabi Nazrul College and Suhrawardy College carried out vandalism at the college over Sunday's clash.

Students started gathering near Dr Mahbubur Rahman Molla College in the morning and carried out vandalism around 12pm. They also looted valuables from the college. Around 1pm, the students of Dr Mahbubur Rahman Molla College appeared there and a chase and counter chase took place among them.

Later, they attacked each other, leaving 50 people injured. The whole area turned into a battlefield following the clash.

The injured were taken to different hospitals. Among them, 30 were taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, said in-charge of the hospital police camp, Mohammad Faruk.

On information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. Besides, six platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were deployed in Jatrabari-Demra area on Monday following clash.

According to a media release of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), additional police have been deployed from Sutrapur to Demra area from 7am following Sunday's clash.

Police tried to control the situation peacefully, fearing it might take a different turn. Despite this, the agitating students engaged in chase and counter chase, attack and looting, it said. At least 25 students were injured in the series of clashes in the area, said the release.

Meanwhile, rumours were spread on social media claiming that two individuals died in the incident, which was completely false. DMP urged everyone to refrain from such misinformation, it said.

On Sunday, students from 35 colleges near National Medical College Hospital vandalised Dhaka National Medical College and Hospital at Bakshibazar in Old Dhaka centering a student's death in 'wrong treatment' at the hospital.

On November 16, Abhijit Halder, an HSC student of Demra's Dr Mahbubur Rahman Molla College, was admitted to the medicine department of the hospital with dengue. He died on November 18.

However, Kabi Nazrul College's unit general secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal Kawser Hossain denied any involvement in the incident. "We are students, and we support students. We did not attack anyone," he said.

Regarding the vandalism, Suhrawardy College Islamic Studies department teacher Tariqul Islam said, "I sent them back first, but they returned with a group. They stole many computers and destroyed them, even took rifles from the NCC. They vandalised all 17 departments and even damaged four motorcycles owned by a teacher."

Suhrawardy College Vice-Principal Dr Farida Yasmin said, "We were assured by the principal that nothing would happen, but the attack occurred. The entire college was attacked, and even my room was ransacked."

Additional reporting from UNB