People gather in front of the ransacked Awami League’s central office in the aftermath of the prime minister’s resignation, in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Rights groups and diplomats in Bangladesh on Tuesday raised concerns at reports of attacks on minorities including Hindus, a day after the prime minister was ousted following mass protests.

Some businesses and homes owned by Hindus — a group seen by some in the Muslim-majority nation as having been close to ousted leader Sheikh Hasina — were attacked on Monday, witnesses said.

Police reported mobs launching revenge attacks on Hasina’s allies. Offices of Hasina’s Awami League party were torched and looted across the country, eyewitnesses told AFP.

“Houses and shops of minority people were attacked, vandalised and looted, at least 97 places on Monday and Tuesday,” Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, said in a statement.

The group said at least 10 Hindu temples were attacked by “miscreants” on Monday.

One Hindu man was beaten to death in Bangladesh’s southern Bagerhat district, said a hospital official who requested anonymity due to safety concerns.

“Such attacks on minorities are against the fundamental spirit of the anti-discrimination student movement,” said Transparency International Bangladesh head Iftekharuzzaman, who uses one name.

The United States embassy in Dhaka called for “calm”, in a post on social media platform X.

“We are concerned about reports of attacks on religious minorities and religious sites in Bangladesh,” it said, a message echoed by European Union diplomats.

EU heads of mission “are very concerned about incoming reports of multiple attacks against places of worship and members of religious, ethnic and other minorities in Bangladesh”, EU ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley posted on X.

“We urgently appeal to all parties to exercise restraint, reject communal violence and uphold the human rights of all Bangladeshis.”

Monday was the deadliest day of unrest since protests erupted in early July, with at least 122 people killed.

Some homes of the Ahmadis, a minority Muslim sect, were also torched by a mob on Monday, a local newspaper reported.

The house of celebrated Hindu musician Rahul Ananda – who last year met French President Emmanuel Macron when he visited Dhaka – was also torched.

Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday also said New Delhi was “monitoring the situation with regard to the status of minorities”.

He added that the government would “remain deeply concerned till law and order is visibly restored”.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Bangladesh’s uncompromising former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has been released from years of house arrest after her bitter enemy Sheikh Hasina was ousted as premier and fled as protesters stormed her palace.

The ferocious rivalry between the two women — born in blood and cemented in prison — has defined politics in the Muslim-majority nation for decades.

Ms. Zia, 78, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for graft in 2018 under Ms. Hasina’s rule.

Ms. Hasina, 76, was ousted on Monday after mass protests, with the Army chief declaring the military would form an interim government.

Orders were then issued for the release of prisoners from the protests, as well as Ms. Zia.

Ms. Zia is chairperson of the key opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP). Party spokesman A.K.M Wahiduzzaman told AFP Tuesday that she “is now freed”.

She is in poor health, confined to a wheelchair with rheumatoid arthritis and struggling with diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver.

Decades-long feud

The enmity between Ms. Zia and Ms. Hasina is known popularly in Bangladesh as the “Battle of Begums”, with “begum” a Muslim honorific in South Asia for powerful women.

Their feud has its roots in the murder of Ms. Hasina’s father — the country’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman — along with her mother, three brothers and several other relatives in a 1975 military coup.

Ms. Zia’s husband Ziaur Rahman was then the deputy army chief and effectively took control himself three months later.

He kickstarted economic recovery in poverty-stricken Bangladesh with privatisations but was killed in another military coup in 1981.

The BNP mantle fell to his widow, then a 35-year-old mother of two young sons who was dismissed by critics as a politically inexperienced housewife.

Zia led opposition to dictator Hussain Muhammad Ershad, boycotting sham elections in 1986 and mounting street protests.

She and Ms. Hasina joined forces to push Ershad out in a wave of protests in 1990 and then faced off in Bangladesh’s first free polls.

Ms. Zia won and led from 1991-96, and again in 2001-2006, as she and Ms. Hasina alternated in power.

Mutual dislike

Their mutual dislike was blamed for a January 2007 political crisis that prompted the military to impose emergency rule and set up a caretaker government. Both were detained for more than a year.

Ms. Hasina won elections in December 2008 by a landslide and led uninterrupted until she fled to India in a helicopter on Monday.

She had tightened her grip on power by detaining tens of thousands of BNP members. Hundreds also disappeared.

Ms. Zia was convicted and jailed in 2018 on graft charges her party rejected as politically motivated.

She was later released into house arrest on condition she neither took part in politics nor went abroad for medical treatment.

Son in exile

Ms. Zia’s first cabinet was hailed for liberalising Bangladesh’s economy in the early 1990s, sparking decades of growth.

However, her second term as the premier of an Islamist-allied coalition was marked by graft allegations against her government and sons.

There was also a series of Islamist attacks, one of which killed more than 20 people and almost claimed Ms. Hasina’s life.

The anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion police unit Ms. Zia created has been accused of hundreds of extrajudicial killings.

Her eldest son Tarique Rahman led the BNP from exile in London while she was in jail but he was convicted in absentia and sentenced to life in prison over his alleged role in a bomb attack on a Hasina rally in 2004.

The BNP says the charges were a politically motivated attempt to expel Ms. Zia’s dynasty from politics.

Ms. Zia won respect for her resolute attitude, although her inability to compromise left her unable to cut deals with important allies at home or abroad.

That defiance extended even to the death of her youngest son from a heart attack in Malaysia in 2015.

Ms. Hasina went to her home to offer sympathy and condolences but Ms. Zia did not open the door.

With unrest and political turmoil rampant in the country, following the resignation of Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina, the people have sounded cries of ‘victory’. In an aggressive burst of joy, protesters joining from different parts of Dhaka were seen storming Ganabhaban (the Bangladesh prime minister’s residence), overturning furniture, smashing glass doors, and taking away different items. Many were even dancing and chanting slogans in the premises and elsewhere in Dhaka.

Various Awami League offices, including the residences of Awami League politicians and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, throughout Bangladesh were also attacked and looted.

Renowned Bangladeshi photographer who participated in the protests at Shahbagh, Dhaka, said that “Beautiful moments descended into Bangladesh” as Sheikh Hasina stepped down from her post.

The photos below capture some of these moments of “joy” after the former PM resigned and fled the country.

Border Security Force (BSF) Director General Daljit Singh Chaudhary reviews tactical and operational preparedness during a visit to India-Bangladesh border, in North 24 Parganas district, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Amidst ongoing unrest in Bangladesh, trade between India and Bangladesh remained suspended and senior officials of the Border Security Force (BSF) on Tuesday (August6, 2024) reviewed operational preparedness along the border.

BSF Director General (DG) Daljit Singh Chaudhury and other commanders of the border guarding force visited the Integrated Check Point at Petrapole and the border outpost Ranaghat of the 68th Battalion deployed on the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district.

“The primary objective is to assess the tactical and operational preparedness and deployment strategies of BSF at these key locations in view of the recent developments in Bangladesh,” a press statement by the BSF said. The border guarding forces have announced a “high alert” along the India-Bangladesh border.

The BSF DG has been visiting bordering areas in West Bengal for the past two days after the situation in Bangladesh turned volatile forcing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and leave the country. During the day, BSF officials discussed operational strategies to deal with illegal infiltration and smuggling, and held coordination meetings with West Bengal government officials and the people of border villages.

Of India’s 4,096 km-long border with Bangladesh, 2,216 km lies along West Bengal, which is guarded by three frontiers of the BSF. Trade, not only at Petrapole but at land custom stations in Ghojadanga, Mahadipur, and Fulbari in West Bengal, has been affected because of the ongoing situation. There has been some passenger movement, particularly along the ICP, which includes both people returning to India and crossing over to Bangladesh.

Some of the passengers narrated their ordeal of how the situation had spiralled out of control in the past few days. Ujjal Saha, secretary of the West Bengal Exporters Coordination Committee, said trade through land ports in the State has been hit because of non-clearance of goods by Bangladesh customs, which has resulted in hundreds of trucks being lined up in parking lots.

Trade along these land ports has been irregular since the protests began in Bangladesh. The developments in the neighbouring country not only pose a security challenge but also a challenge for Indian exporters.

Arun Kumar Garodia, chairperson of the Engineering Export Promotion Council of India said that the political developments in Bangladesh were a significant concern for Indian engineering exporters.

“As one of the top destinations for Indian engineering products and our largest trading partner in South Asia, stability in Bangladesh is crucial for maintaining and expanding trade relations,” Mr. Garodia said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Monday (August 6, 2024) appealed to the people of the State to maintain peace and avoid provocation. She had urged leaders of political parties to refrain from posting messages that could incite communal passions on social media.

People gather as the Akhaura-Agartala rail link enters the Indo-Bangladesh border during its trial run, at Nischintapur, in Agartala. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

The turmoil in Bangladesh has put inter-country rail connectivity along the crucial Agartala-Akhaura link, which connects Tripura to Kolkata cutting across the heart of Bangladesh, in a lurch. 

Talks for the long-pending link, which date back to 1974, were revived earlier this year, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina virtually inaugurated their pet project. 

Indian Railway officials said that of the 12.24 km dual gauge rail line, work on the 5.46 km line, which originates in Tripura’s Agartala and leads to the Nischintapur station which onwards leads to the Bangladesh border entering into Akhaura, had been completed. 

“The Commissioner of Railway Safety has inspected the works along the newly constructed line and has made some observations. After working on those, the line will get ready from the Indian side for commissioning. The commissioning of the line has not yet happened,” Northeast Frontier Railway spokesperson Sabyasachi De told The Hindu. 

“Another 6.78 km lie on the Bangladeshi side, and Bangladesh railway officials are responsible for carrying out work on their side across the border. With political turmoil, the connectivity project will get delayed furthermore. The whole seat of power has changed, so for us right now when the rail connectivity between two countries gets established is a wait and watch situation,” Indian Railway officials said. 

Cuts travel time

Currently the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata is 31 hours, and if the inter-country line cutting across Bangladesh is activated it will reduce the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata to 10 hours. It will cut the current commute distance from 1,581 km to 460 km when it gets operational. In May earlier this year, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha had said the link would get operational ‘very soon.’ 

In December last year, the estimated project cost of India side ranged up to ₹708.73 crore, while on Bangladesh side the cost ranged up to ₹392.52 crore. India’s Ministry of External Affairs has extended Bangladesh government the financial assistance to culminate work on the other side. 

According to the official map of Bangladesh Railway, there is existing rail connectivity from Akhaura to Dhaka and onwards to Kolkata, via multiple routes. Owing to the volatile situation, Indian Railways has suspended train services along the existing routes connecting Dhaka to Kolkata that include Maitree Express, Bandhan Express and Mitali Express. All freight and cargo movement has also been suspended, with nearly 355 Indian wagons stuck on Bangladeshi side. 

People gather at the entrance of the Parliament Building a day after the resignation of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The death toll in the anti-government protests in Bangladesh on Tuesday (August 6, 2024) climbed to 440, with 100 more deaths reported after Sheikh Hasina fled the country, according to local media, even as efforts were on by the army to bring the situation under control in the violence-hit nation.

Despite the high death toll, there were signs of a return to normalcy on Tuesday (August 6, 2024), with police and army patrolling the streets, BDNews24.com news portal said and added that schools were reopened after a long period of closure due to protests against Ms. Hasina over a controversial job quota system.

Also Read: Bangladesh protests LIVE Updates

The situation in Dhaka was largely calm on Tuesday (August 6, 2024) after a day of unrest and a night of tension. Buses and other public transport were on the streets and traders were opening shops. Government vehicles were heading to offices. Many battery-run rickshaws plied the roads, it added.

Bengali language daily Prothom Alo reported that at least 109 people were killed in clashes in different parts of the country, including Dhaka, during the anti-discrimination student movement on Monday (August 5, 2024).

The newspaper earlier reported the death of 98 people till 12 p.m. on Sunday (August 4, 2024). Another 16 deaths were reported in the night. The total death toll stood at 114 on Sunday (August 4, 2024).

“With this, the total death toll stood at 440 in 21 days from July 16 to yesterday,” the paper said.

The clashes between protesters demanding Hasina’s resignation over the quota system in government jobs and the ruling Awami League supporters in different parts of Bangladesh erupted on Sunday (August 4, 2024) days after more than 200 people were killed in violent clashes between police and mostly student protesters in July.

Prothom Alo said that 37 bodies were brought to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital between 11 am and 8 pm on Monday (August 5, 2024).

Citing hospital sources, it said 500 people were brought to the hospital with various injuries, including bullet injuries, on Monday (August 5, 2024).

As the news of Ms. Hasina’s departure spread on Monday (August 5, 2024), hundreds of people broke into her residence, vandalising and looting the interiors, providing dramatic expression to the anti-government protests.

Sudha Sadan and other establishments attacked

Ms. Hasina’s private residence Sudha Sadan and other establishments were attacked, vandalised and set on fire in the capital. The residences and business establishments of ministers, party MPs and leaders of Hasina’s Awami League government were also attacked in Dhaka and outside Dhaka.

The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported that at least 18 people were killed in Savar and Dhamrai areas, on the outskirts of the capital, after clashes broke out between police and miscreants on Monday (August 5, 2024).

Ten people were killed in the capital’s Uttara on Monday (August 5, 2024) after individuals in civilian clothes reportedly opened fire on protesters.

“Six people were killed in Habiganj, eight in Jessore, three in Khulna, three in Barisal, 11 in Lakshmipur, six in Kushtia, three in Satkhira and six in Sreepur of Gazipur,” the paper said.

“At least 24 people were burnt alive last night in a hotel owned by a leader of Awami League of in western Joshor district,” hospital sources said.

Late Monday (August 5, 2024) night, President Mohammed Shahabuddin asked all the political parties to normalise the law and order situation in the country and directed the armed forces to take stern measures to protect the lives and properties of the people and state assets.

The educational institutions were reopened

The educational institutions were reopened on Tuesday (August 6, 2024) following a long period of closure due to violence surrounding the student movement. However, the educational institutions in Dhaka saw low attendance, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

“The institution is open, and some girls have come, but attendance is low. Attendance will increase in a couple of days,” Md Rahamot Ullah, principal of Kisholoy Girls’ School and College in the Mohammadpur area of the capital, was quoted as saying by the paper.

On the first day after the fall of Ms. Hasina’s government, a tense atmosphere prevailed at the Secretariat on Tuesday (August 6, 2024), the paper reported.

The entry passes to the Secretariat were cancelled. Only a small number of police officers were seen on duty at the main gate, accompanied by army personnel. Army members were also seen on duty alongside police officers at the Home Ministry office.

Attendance of officers and employees in the ministry offices was significantly low, and ministers and Members of Parliament were notably absent. Those who did come to work were filled with fear and anxiety, it added.

Meanwhile, banners and festoons related to the mournful month of August were removed, and pictures of Ms. Hasina were taken down from various offices. Trouble had been steadily escalating since the government’s announcement of the quota system in June this year.

“Ms. Hasina, who landed at the Hindon airbase on August 5 in a C-130J military transport aircraft, hours after resigning as the prime minister, has been shifted to an unspecified location under tight security,” people in the know said. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s plan to travel to London has hit a roadblock over some “uncertainties” and she is unlikely to move out of India for the next couple of days, people familiar with the matter said on August 6.

“Ms. Hasina, who landed at the Hindon airbase on August 5 in a C-130J military transport aircraft, hours after resigning as the prime minister, has been shifted to an unspecified location under tight security,” they said. 

“The former Bangladesh Prime Minister, accompanied by her sister Sheikh Rehana, planned to leave for London from India to take temporary refuge but the option is not being pursued now. This is after the U.K. government indicated that she may not get legal protection against any possible probe into the massive violent protests in her country,” they said.

Bangladesh Protests live updates – August 6

“The Awami League leader planned to travel to London through India and her aides informed Indian authorities about it before she landed in Hindon,” they said.

Hasina decided to travel to London as Rehana’s daughter Tulip Siddiq is a member of the British Parliament. Tulip is economic secretary to the Treasury and Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate.

In a statement, British foreign secretary David Lammy said in London on August 5 that Bangladesh has seen unprecedented levels of violence and tragic loss of life in the last two weeks and people of the country “deserve a full and independent UN-led investigation into the events”.

They further added, “Hasina has apprised New Delhi about her possible future steps. It is also learnt that Hasina has family members in Finland as well and that is why she also contemplated leaving for the northern European country.”

While saying that Hasina’s travel plans have hit certain issues and she may stay in the country for the next couple of days, the people also described the situation as dynamic with no definitive path or clarity on the matter.

The 76-year-old who ruled the South Asian country with an iron fist for 15 years, resigned as the prime minister following the massive protests that initially began as an agitation against a job quota scheme but weeks later morphed into a mass movement demanding her ouster from power.

The controversial quota system provided for 30% reservations in civil services jobs for the families of veterans who fought the 1971 liberation war.

Hasina’s Awami League retained power in the parliamentary election in January that was boycotted by the opposition parties.

“The former Bangladesh prime minister left her official residence Ganabhavan in a military chopper to an airbase. From the airbase, she flew into Hindon in a C-130 military transport aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force,” the sources said.