Bangladesh, Dhaka: On Thursday, Bangladesh police released six student leaders from custody. These leaders had been involved in a protest movement against civil service job quotas, which led to fatal nationwide unrest last month, as reported by a senior officer to AFP.

The protests, organized by the group Students Against Discrimination, escalated into violence following a police crackdown, resulting in 206 deaths over several days of unrest, based on AFP’s tally from police and hospital reports.

Deputy Commissioner Junaed Alam Sarkar confirmed, 'All six coordinators of the quota movement have been reunited with their families this afternoon.'

The detained leaders, including Nahid Islam, were arrested over the past week. Last Friday, Nahid and two others were forcibly removed from a hospital in Dhaka by plainclothes officers and taken to an undisclosed location.

Nahid’s father, Badrul Islam, informed AFP that Nahid had returned home by Thursday afternoon, though he did not provide further details.

The following days saw the detention of three more individuals. At the time, the government claimed they were held for their safety.

Justice Minister Anisul Huq stated on Thursday that the six individuals had voluntarily entered and exited police custody. They arrived by their own choice and departed by their own choice,' he said.