Hundreds of Bangladeshi protesters demolished buildings linked to ousted former leader Sheikh Hasina on Thursday, just hours after students used excavators to tear down a museum dedicated to her father.
The museum, once the home of Hasina’s late father—Bangladesh’s first president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman—had been set on fire last year during the student-led uprising that ended her 15-year rule.
Late Wednesday, exactly six months after Hasina fled by helicopter to India on August 5, crowds armed with hammers and metal rods began dismantling the building in Dhaka.
By Thursday morning, excavators were being used to bring down the remaining fire-charred walls.
The protests erupted following reports that 77-year-old Hasina—who has ignored an arrest warrant related to massacres—planned to address the nation via a Facebook broadcast from exile.
Demonstrators also vandalized and set fire to properties connected to Hasina across the country, including an arson attack on the Dhaka residence of her late husband.
According to Prothom Alo, Bangladesh’s largest Bengali daily, protesters in Khulna used government-owned excavators to demolish a building belonging to Hasina’s family.
In Kushtia, they vandalized the home of Mahbubul Alam Hanif, a leader in Hasina’s Awami League party. In Chittagong, crowds staged a torch procession and destroyed a mural of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Despite the widespread destruction, the interim government has not issued a formal response, and security forces stood by as protesters stormed buildings.
A private security guard in the area said he repeatedly called the fire department, fearing the flames would spread to nearby residential buildings.
“We had to cut off the electricity ourselves,” said Jamal Uddin. “I don’t know when things will go back to normal.”
A shopkeeper living near Rahman’s former home voiced concerns about the ongoing unrest.
“This vandalism is not a good sign,” he said, asking not to be named as he was fearful of reprisal for speaking out.
AFP
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