The Fall of a Dictator

4th August, 2024

In the morning, protesters gathered at the Science Lab intersection of the capital on the first day of the non-cooperation movement announced by the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement. Thousands of protesters gathered at the Shahbagh intersection in the capital that morning and blocked it to press home their one-point demand—resignation of the government. Awami League men took position at the Mirpur-10 intersection of the capital in the early morning, apparently to counter the protesters demanding the resignation of the government. At least two people were killed, and 20 others were injured in a clash between protesters and Awami League men in Munshiganj town around 10:45 am. A number of vehicles at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) were torched in the morning by unidentified people. The AL’s main office was set on fire in Khulna city around noon. The protesters and police clashed around noon, half an hour after hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Court Point area in Sylhet city as part of their non-cooperation movement. Unidentified people torched the Khulna Zilla Parishad office around 12:30 pm. At least three people were killed, and at least 28 others were injured during a clash between protesters on one side, and police and ruling party men on the other in Magura. The Faridpur district Awami League office was vandalized while its BCL office was torched. The protesters also set fire to eight to ten motorcycles in front of the district AL office on Hasibul Hasan Lablu Road in the Niltuli area. In the afternoon, the officials of mobile phone operators said they had received a directive to shut down 4G services. State Minister for Water Resource Ministry Zahid Faruk’s house was vandalized in Barishal around 12:30 pm. A curfew was imposed indefinitely starting from 6:00 pm that day in Dhaka and other divisional cities, district towns, and all city corporations, and it was to remain in effect until otherwise directed. The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement declared a long march to Dhaka on Monday, 5th August. Initially, they had announced that the program would be held on Tuesday but later changed their decision. At least eight people from both sides were killed in clashes in Feni as Awami League men attacked protesters. The government announced a three-day general holiday on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to ensure public safety amid the ongoing violent protests across the country. At least three people, including a student, were killed during clashes in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi, Gulistan, and Farmgate areas. At least six Awami League leaders were beaten to death, and several others injured in a clash between Awami League members and protesters of the anti-discrimination quota movement in Narsingdi. At least 13 police personnel of the Enayetpur Police Station in Sirajganj were killed as a mob attacked the station. Overall, throughout the day, at least 93 people, including 14 policemen, were killed and dozens injured as fierce clashes took place in different areas in Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh on the first day of the non-cooperation movement.

5th August, 2024

Defying the curfew and police barricade, hundreds of people took position at Shahbagh in the capital around noon. Thousands of people joined the Anti-Discrimination Students’ Movement’s “March to Dhaka” program at the Mirpur 10 roundabout and moved towards Farmgate. Army personnel were present at the location, and thousands more joined from nearby alleys. About 12 to 20 minutes later, the crowd began marching towards Farmgate. They carried bamboo sticks and batons but did not engage in any attacks or assaults. Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka in the face of mass protests demanding her resignation, a source told AFP. Before being evacuated, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned, and Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced that an interim government would be formed to run the country. Protesters stormed the gates of the Gono Bhaban (The PM’s residential palace) and entered the premises around 3:00 pm. Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina landed in India’s northeastern city of Agartala, a broadcaster CNN-News18 reported. Masses attacked the Bochaganj upazila police station in Dinajpur and set it on fire. The protesters also torched the local Awami League office and the Muktijoddha Complex in Bochaganj upazila. Several roadside shops were looted.Meanwhile, people also vandalized the Bochaganj Upazila Press Club. A mob looted and vandalized the official residence of Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan in Dhaka’s Kakrail area. Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced that he would hold discussions with all representatives of students and teachers very soon. The Anti-Discrimination Students’ Movement organizers announced that they planned to place a framework for a national government that night. There would be no political comeback for Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy told the BBC, hours after the former Bangladesh prime minister resigned and left the country. Joy said Hasina was “so disappointed that after all her hard work, a minority rose up against her.” The C-130J transport plane carrying Sheikh Hasina landed at Hindon Air Base in India’s Uttar Pradesh. At least 13 people were killed, and several others were injured after unidentified arsonists torched a residential hotel owned by Shahin Chakladar, general secretary of Jashore district Awami League. Agitators vandalized and torched key establishments of the Awami League. Around 4:00 pm, a group of people torched the Awami League headquarters in the capital’s Gulisthan.Meanwhile, demonstrators clambered atop a statue of Hasina’s father, state founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and began chiseling away at the head with an axe. Around that time, the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum on Dhanmondi 32 was also vandalized and set on fire. The agitators shouted slogans and removed different items, including furniture, from the building. The International Crisis Group (ICG) made a statement saying that the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was an opportunity to avert further bloodshed, and the immediate priority was to prevent any further deaths at the hands of either protesters or groups loyal to Hasina and the Awami League. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir called upon people to remain calm and exercise restraint to maintain peace and stability in the country following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) decided not to reopen factories the next day as their management wanted to observe the situation further to see if there was a change in the political situation. At least three people were burned to death after arsonists set fire to the Kalibari residence of Barishal City Corporation’s former mayor Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah. Five people were killed, and 40 others were injured as Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and protesters clashed at Mulaid village in Gazipur’s Sreepur upazila. Curfew was set to be in force from midnight to 6:00 am the next day, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. Nahid Islam, one of the key organizers of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, urged all to ensure that no one got the opportunity to provoke religious tensions in the country after the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led government. India’s Border Security Force issued a “high alert” along the 4,096 km-long India-Bangladesh border considering the current law-and-order situation in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin ordered the release of jailed former prime minister and key opposition leader Khaleda Zia, hours after her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina was ousted and the military took power. The Indian Cabinet Committee on Security met at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence the previous evening amid the turmoil in Bangladesh.