Hasina’s home ransacked, party offices on fire

Thousands of protesters in Bangladesh on Monday looted and vandalised Sheikh Hasina’s official residence in the capital Dhaka, smashed a statue of her father Mujibur Rahman with hammers and set her party’s offices on fire as they celebrated her departure.

Hasina, 76, resigned as PM and left Bangladesh amid mass protests against her govt over a controversial quota system that reserved 30% of govt jobs for the families of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence against Pakistan in 1971. She had been governing the strategically located South Asian nation since 2009.

Pics with PM’s menagerie
Thousands of protesters defied a military curfew and stormed her official residence ‘Ganabhaban’ in Dhaka. Video footage showed jubilant crowds vandalising and ransacking the premises, taking away even fish, chicken and vegetables. Bangladesh’s Channel 24 broadcast images of crowds running into Hasina’s compound, grinning and waving to the camera, looting furniture and books, or relaxing on beds. One protester proudly proclaimed to the media that he had taken a red lipstick. “I will keep it as a memento of our struggle… to remember we broke free from a dictator. She used to wear this lipstick,” he said. Another man carrying a planter said, “This is freedom.” Demonstrators also posed for pictures with the PM’s menagerie, including chickens, ducks and rabbits.

Hammers on Mujibur statue
Footage on social media showed protesters climbing a statue of Hasina’s father in Ganabhaban and smashing it with hammers. The Bangabandhu memorial museum — dedicated to Mujibur Rahman who was assassinated along with his wife and their three sons while serving as prez in 1975 — was also vandalised. Hasina and her sister had survived the purge as they were abroad. Hasina then spent six years in exile in India. The home of Wajed Miah, Hasina’s husband, was not spared.

Crowd enters parliament
The Awami League office in the capital was also set on fire. Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan’s house was ransacked. A Prothom Alo reporter said screams could be heard when several people entered the chief justice’s residence. The crowd also entered the parliament building. People were seen taking things from inside the parliament building. A large number of protesters broke through the main gate of the police headquarters and ransacked the building.

An unruly mob vandalised the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in the city’s Dhanmondi area. Four Hindu temples suffered “minor” damages across the country, eyewitnesses said.

66 killed on Monday, toll 366
At least 66 people were killed Monday, police said, saying gangs had launched revenge attacks on Hasina’s allies. Many were shot. The latest violence took the total number of people killed since protests began to at least 366, according to an AFP tally based on police, govt officials and doctors at hospitals.
The violence was not restricted to Dhaka. In the eastern city of Sylhet, offices of the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police were set on fire, while the homes of several councillors were attacked, BBC reported. At least eight people were burned to death and 84 others suffered injuries after arsonists torched a hotel owned by Awami League general secretary of Jashore district.