Dhaka ,feb 6
Protesters in Bangladesh have demolished more houses of leaders of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League and defaced murals of the country’s founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman after they vandalised and set on fire the former family home of the deposed prime minister.The unrest sparked after a live online address by Hasina.Several thousand people rallied in front of Hasina’s father Mujibur Rahman’s house in the capital’s Dhanmondi area, which was earlier turned into a memorial museum, early Wednesday following a social media call for “Bulldozer Procession” as Hasina was supposed to make her address.An excavator later started demolishing the residence. The demolition was still underway on Thursday morning.The residence of Hasina, Sudha Sadan, located on Road 5 in Dhanmondi, was also set on fire by protesters late on Wednesday, The Daily Star newspaper reported.Since the ousting of the Hasina-led government on August 5, Sudha Sadan had been completely vacated.Protesters also demolished the Khulna home of Hasina’s cousins Sheikh Helal Uddin and Sheikh Salauddin Jewel.Thousands of people gathered around the house, chanting “Delhi or Dhaka—Dhaka, Dhaka” and “Down with Mujibism”.Ahsan Habib, additional deputy commissioner of Khulna Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star, “I have seen the news of the incident on Facebook, but I don’t have further information.” Sheikh Helal was the former MP of Bagerhat-1 and Sheikh Salahuddin Jewel was the former MP of Khulna-2.Protesting students removed the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall of Dhaka University.The homes of former lawmaker of Kushtia-3 and Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif and president of Kushtia Awami League Sadar Khan were ransacked.Protesters in Chattogram took out a torch procession to demonstrate against Hasina’s speech, which was broadcast from Bangladesh Awami League’s social media handles last night.They later defaced Sheikh Mujib’s murals at Chittagong Medical College and in the city’s Jamal Khan area.Leaders and activists of Students Against Discrimination held a protest rally and a sit-in in the Bandar Bazar in Sylhet.The mural of Mujib at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur was defaced by the protesters on Thursday.In Barishal, demonstrators brought a bulldozer to the house of Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, former mayor of the city corporation and Hasina’s relative. He owns a two-storey home in the city’s Kalibari Road area.Protesters vandalised a mural of Bangabandhu near the Circuit House ground in Mymensingh city with hammers and crowbars around 11:30 pm yesterday, Prothom Alo newspaper reported.
