Bangladesh continues to be in a state of unrest as the army took control and oversaw the establishment of an interim government in the wake of Sheikh Hasina fleeing Dhaka as protesters demanding her resignation took control of the country.
President Mohammed Sahabuddin Ahmed dissolved the parliament and passed an order that will see student leaders being released and former Bangladesh PM Hasina’s main rival, Khaleda Zia’s, detention end.
The former prime minister and supremo of the Awami League political party is currently in New Delhi and has requested asylum from the UK.
Meanwhile her party workers are facing the full wrath of irate mobs and a section of protesters, who have resorted to the path of violence as the interim government tries to establish control.
To restore normalcy, Bangladesh Army said that a curfew has been launched from Tuesday midnight 12am to 6am in the morning after which all services will resume normally.
“All educational institutions including government, semi-government, autonomous, semi-autonomous, private institutions, factories, schools, colleges, madrasas, universities of Bangladesh will be open from tomorrow Tuesday morning,” the Bangladesh Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
It remains to be seen how Bangladesh’s interim government and law enforcement agencies restore law and order as several cases of arson, murder and lynching were reported from across Bangladesh.
President Holds Meeting
President Mohammed Sahabuddin Ahmed held a meeting with all political parties on Monday night during which he passed an order that will see the release of arrested student leaders and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Khaleda Zia. BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the interim government will be formed promptly after the Parliament is dissolved and a general election will be held within three months.
“All the prisoners including those detained in anti-discrimination student movement and various false cases will be released. It was unanimously decided to release BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia,” Ahmed said.
Awami League Headquarters Torched, Cadres Attacked
Awami League’s headquarters in Dhaka were set ablaze by an irate mob. The mob torched Awami League’s headquarters in Dhaka’s Gulisthan and also set ablaze its major offices in Dhanmondi and Tejgaon.
Chittagong, Khagrachari, Bandarban and Rangamati also saw attacks on Awami League cadres.
A residential hotel owned by a Awami League lawmaker was torched and eight people were killed in the arson attack.
“The homes and businesses of pro-Awami League people have been attacked,” a senior police officer said, speaking on the condition of anonymity, and calling the violence “mob rule”.
Others torched television stations that had backed Hasina’s rule, smashed statues of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s independence hero, and set fire to a museum dedicated to him.
“The time has come to make them accountable for torture,” said protester Kaza Ahmed. “Sheikh Hasina is responsible for murder.”
The residence of cricketer Mashrafe Mortaza, who is lawmaker with the Awami League, was also set ablaze.
Hindu Leader Killed, Hindu Temples Vandalized
An Indian cultural centre was vandalised by an unruly mob in Bangladesh’s capital and four Hindu temples suffered “minor” damages across the country on Monday, eyewitnesses and a community leader said.
Kajol Debnath, Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council leader, said he has received reports that at least 4 Hindu temples were damaged across the country.
The unruly mobs paid no heed to the urge made by Nahid Islam, one of the key organisers of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, who urged all to ensure that no one gets the opportunity to provoke religious tensions in the country.
“We, the protesters, have united to protest against the fascist government. There is no grouping or division among us. We are against any kind of religious incitement, sabotage or division,” Nahid had said.
Meanwhile, Haradhan Roy of the Parshuram Thana Awami League and councillor of Ward 4 in Rangpur city in Bangladesh was killed in the hands of an irate mob.
Actor, Policemen Lynched
13 policemen were lynched by a mob in an attack on Sirajganj’s Enayetpur police station. Several police stations in Dhaka have been attacked and set on fire as well.
Police stations in Jatrabari, the Tejgaon Industrial Area, Mohammadpur, Uttara East, Badda, Rampura, and Khilgaon.
A lawmaker and his actor son were also lynched to death in Laxmipur. Union Parishad (UP) chairman Salim Khan of Chandpur and his son actor Shanto Khan were killed in the hands of an unruly mob.
Shanto Khan and his father, who survived an unruly mob by firing bullets from their firearms, fell to another mob who ended up killing them near Bagara Bazar.
Shanto Khan played the role of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman in a biopic on the nation’s founding father.
The latest violence took the total number of people killed since protests began to at least 366.
(with inputs from AFP, PTI, Prothom Alo and BD24)
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