Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan today said they are not doing any mass arrests, but rather based on evidence over the violence centring the quota reform protests.

"Many people say we are making mass arrests. We are not... There are districts where there was no violence or obstruction.. You [journalists] have seen the places of destruction. They have wasted our national and state resources. They have caused loss of life. We condemn everything," said the home minister.

The minister said this today after a special meeting at the Secretariat regarding the ongoing situation.

The nearly three-and-a-half-hour-long meeting, attended by the seven ministers and state ministers, started around 3:20pm.

"We are not arresting any innocent person. We are arresting those whom we have been able to identify with intelligence information, video footage, and witnesses," he said.

Asaduzzaman said, "There are no mass arrests. Yes, we have made arrests... You [journalists] have seen the destruction in Jatrabari."

"Those who did this [violence] have committed seditious acts. Action must be taken against them in accordance with the law. We will not detain any innocent person," he added.

With Home Minister Asaduzzaman in chair, Law Minister Anisul Huq, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat, State Minister for Labour and Employment Md Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, and State Minister for Post, Telecommunications, and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak, among others, attended the meeting.

Secretaries and senior secretaries of the ministries concerned, inspector general of police, director general of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), and top officials of law enforcement and intelligence agencies were also present at the meeting.