Jail breached, statue vandalised, PM's residence looted: How violence rocked B'desh after Hasina's exit

Turmoil in Bangladesh does not seem to cease even with former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s exit from the country on Monday. Several miscreants have now stormed into a jail, setting over 500 inmates free.

A mob bearing sticks and other local weaponry rushed into the Sherpur District Jail during the curfew period on Monday, breaking the main doors and setting the facility on fire.

Apart from vadalising the jail complex and freeing over 500 inmates, weapons and other valuables from the complex were also looted.

After Hasina fled the country, Bangladesh will now be ruled under a caretaker government helmed by the military.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh student protesters said Tuesday they would push for Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to lead an interim government, a day after the prime minister was ousted and the military took charge.

“We have decided that the interim government would be formed in which internationally renowned Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, who has wide acceptability, would be the chief adviser,” Nahid Islam, the main leader of Students Against Discrimination (SAD), said in a video message.

Hasina’s official residence looted

Thousands of Bangladeshi protesters stormed the palace of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka on Monday.

Bangladesh’s Channel 24 broadcast images of crowds running into the premier’s official residence in the capital, waving to the camera as they celebrated.

From Dior bags to Dhakai sarees, people took valuables on their way out from the Ganabhaban Palace.

Bangladesh’s Channel 24 broadcast images of crowds running into the premier’s official residence in the capital, waving to the camera as they celebrated.

Mujibur Rehman’s statue vandalised

Former President of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rehman’s statue was torn apart as soon as Hasina left the country in a chopper with her younger sister Sheikh Rehana.

Mujibur Rehman is the founding father of Bangladesh who led the revolution in 1971.

Some protesters set a museum dedicated to Rehman’s life on fire, flames licking at portraits in destruction barely unthinkable just hours before, when Hasina had the loyalty of the security forces under her autocratic grip.

Parliament stormed

Offices of Hasina’s Awami League across the country were torched and looted, eyewitnesses told AFP.

Hundreds of people stormed the parliament building, with broadcasters showing protesters cheering wildly, jumping on tables, and setting off what appeared to be smoke bombs.

With inputs from agencies