Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visits a vandalized metro rail station at Mirpur 10, in Dhaka.
| Photo Credit: PTI
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Earlier in the day television channels showed hundreds of protesters storming into her official palace after reports emerged that she has left the country. Bangladesh’s army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman is likely to address the nation in an hour. He is said to be holding discussions with various political leaders.
A day after 94 people were killed in a violent protest demanding her resignation, students who are spear-heading the protest against her – under the banner Students Against Discrimination – began their ‘Long March to Dhaka’ with the sole aim of unseating her.
The government had totally suspended internet, including broadband services, banned all Meta’s platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, and even declared holiday for the next three days in a bid to diffuse the protest.
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Fresh clashes resulted in six more deaths, taking the total toll since July to more than 300.
The students protest began in July when the government announced quota for families of freedom fighters in government jobs. Even after an Appellate Division of the Supreme Court dismissed the order, the protests didn’t relent as Ms. Hasina termed the protesting students as ‘razakar’ (traitor).
In a Facebook post, Ms. Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy who is currently living in the USA, wrote: “Your duty is to keep our people safe and our country safe and to uphold the constitution… It means don’t allow any unelected government to come in power for one minute, it is your duty.”
