DHAKA, Feb 7: Protesters in Bangladesh have targeted and set fire to the residences of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League leaders nationwide, while murals of the nation’s founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, were vandalized and destroyed in nearly twenty districts, according to various media outlets.
The turmoil was ignited by a live online address from Hasina on Wednesday evening, which prompted demonstrators to assault the house of Sheikh Mujib.
On Friday, a fire was ignited at the residence of Awami League Presidium Member Sheikh Selim in Dhaka’s Banani area.
The incident occurred around 1:30 am on Friday; however, due to inadequate police security, the Fire Service experienced delays and did not arrive until 2:45 am.
Chaotic crowds set the fire at Selim’s home in Banani. According to the Fire Service control room duty officer, security issues hindered Fire Service vehicles from reaching the location immediately, as reported by the United News of Bangladesh (UNB).
Following the burning and destruction of the Dhanmondi-32 residence belonging to Sheikh Mujib, protesters went on to attack, loot, and set ablaze the residence of Obaidul Quader, general secretary of the Awami League (AL) and former minister of road, transport, and bridges, in Noakhali’s Companiganj, as detailed by the Daily Star on Friday.
During the assault on Quader’s residence in the Bora Rajapur Mohalla area around 1:00 pm, his two-storey building and the corrugated iron-roofed rooms of his younger brother, Abdul Quader Mirza, the president of Companiganj AL, and Shahadat Mirza, a former mayor of Basurhat municipality, were also ransacked.
A car parked outside the house was also set on fire. No occupants were present at the time.
In Rajshahi, a faction of protesters ignited a fire at the three-storey house of Shahriar Alam, a former state minister for foreign affairs, in the Chaksinga Mohalla of Bagha upazila, UNB reported.
Eyewitnesses stated that over 100 individuals from the Bagha and Charghat upazilas arrived on motorbikes and set the house ablaze around noon.
Protesters also attacked and burned the property of AL leader Abu Sayeed in the Shalgaria village of Pabna on Thursday.
Witnesses stated they broke the gate, ransacked the house, and subsequently set it on fire in the evening.
Abu Sayeed, vice-president of Pabna Sadar upazila AL and former chairman of Varara Union Parishad, is currently accused in a case related to an attack on demonstrators that resulted in the deaths of two students during the July protests and has been in hiding.
On Thursday, in Cumilla, protesters destroyed two murals of Sheikh Mujib in the city.
Around 4:00 pm, they used a bulldozer to remove a mural located in front of a court building on the Cumilla Judge Court premises.
Rashedul Haque, secretary of the Cumilla City unit of Students Against Discrimination, addressed those present, stating, “We will demolish all symbols of fascism.”
Later, another mural of Sheikh Mujib was destroyed at Cumilla City Park.
In Narayanganj, pro-BNP lawyers dismantled murals and a bust of Sheikh Mujib located at the Narayanganj Judge Court and the offices of the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police in the city.
Witnesses reported that construction workers were summoned and directed to demolish the structures with hammers and crowbars.
In Narsingdi, demonstrators vandalized a mural of Sheikh Mujib on the District and Sessions Judge Court premises around noon.
During this time, several pro-AL Bangladesh Chhatra League activists were attacked while being escorted to court by police.
Witnesses said hundreds of individuals gathered at the AL office in the Main Road area around 4:00 pm and demolished it with an excavator.
In Bagerhat, six murals of Sheikh Mujib were vandalized in various locations including the Muktijoddha Complex, Municipality Park, Shaheed Minar areas, and in Mongla Upazila Parishad Complex, Mongla Children Park, and Muktijoddha Bhaban on Thursday.
Protesters also dismantled a mural of Sheikh Mujib at the Barishal Press Club.
Many properties were set ablaze, including the Feni district AL office and the homes of former MPs Lt Gen (retd) Masud Uddin Chowdhury and Alauddin Ahmed Chowdhury Nasim.
In Thakurgaon, five murals of Sheikh Mujib, Sheikh Russel, and Sheikh Moni were vandalized.
The student movement previously pledged to abolish Bangladesh’s 1972 Constitution, promising to bury the “Mujibist constitution,” while some far-right factions suggested altering the national anthem adopted by Mujib’s post-independence government.
Hasina, 77, has been residing in India since August 5 of last year, having fled Bangladesh after a massive student-led protest that ended her Awami League’s 16-year rule.
While Hasina’s father is regarded as a hero of independence, resentment toward her has tarnished his legacy.
In a Facebook Live session, Hasina condemned the violence and demanded “justice.”
“They can destroy a building, but they cannot erase history,” she stated.
Moreover, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has issued arrest warrants for Hasina and several former Cabinet ministers, advisers, and military and civil officials for alleged “crimes against humanity and genocide.” (PTI)
