Dhaka (Bangladesh): Shortly after it was reported that Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister had fled Bangladesh amid ongoing violence in the country, security agencies in India began monitoring a C-130 Aircraft with call sign AJAX1431 as it flew nearby from the Indian border.
Sources said the aircraft was headed towards Delhi. Sources say that it is believed that Sheikh Hasina and some members of her entourage are on this plane. The aircraft is expected to reach around 1700-1715 hours at a runway in Delhi.
The Bangladesh Air Force plane crossed Patna and was tracked near the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border. Sources said that top security brass is monitoring the situation very closely and “all radars are active and keeping a close watch on them.”
Meanwhile, protests and celebrations were reported from Dhaka with some protestors cheering the news of the resignation of Sheikh Hasina.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned, and an interim government will be formed to run the country, Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced on Monday. In a televised address to the nation, General Waker-Uz-Zaman also urged the citizens to keep their trust in the Bangladesh Army, asserting that the defence forces will ensure peace in the coming days. The Army chief also said that he will be meeting President Mohammed Shahabuddin soon.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has left Dhaka in a military chopper amid nationwide violence in the country, local media reported on Monday. The Prime Minister resigned and left in the military chopper as protestors stormed inside the residence of Prime Minister.
As per latest reports from Bangladesh local media Sheikh Hasina has left for a location in India. There is, however, no official confirmation. Local media also claimed that PM Sheikh Hasina may land in Agartala.
Media outlet ProthomAlo said that Hasina’s military chopper, took off from her Bangabhaban the official residence of the Bangladesh president with her at 2:30 (local time) today. Sheikh Hasina was accompanied by her younger sister Sheikh Rehana in the chopper ProthomAlo reported citing sources that claimed that the Bangladesh Prime Minister departed for West Bengal in India by helicopter.
Protestors stormed inside PM residence
Protesters forced open the gates of Gono Bhaban and entered the premises of the prime minister’s residence around 3 pm today, The Daily Star reported.
Thousands of people joined the Anti-Discrimination Students’ Movement’s “March to Dhaka” programme at the Mirpur 10 roundabout and moved towards Farmgate. Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman’s who was made to make a televised address has been pushed back Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said as cited by Bangladesh publication The Daily Star.
Earlier on August 3, organisers of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement announced a single-point demand for the resignation of Hasina and her cabinet members. Nahid Islam, one of the key organisers, announced the demand at a rally at the Central Shaheed Minar.
The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement’s announcement came after Bangladesh PM Hasina urged the agitating students to sit with her at Gono Bhaban to end the violence focused on the quota reform protests. She said, “Doors of Gono Bhaban are open. I want to sit with the agitating students and listen to them. I want no conflict.” She made the remarks during a meeting with the central leaders of the Peshajibi Somonnoy Parishad (Professionals Coordination Council) at Gono Bhaban on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the anti-discrimination student movement has announced that it will hold a “March to Dhaka” programme today to raise its one-point demand, which is the resignation of the Sheikh Hasina-led government. The Daily Star reported.
They urged students and people across the nation to participate in the march to Dhaka. Three coordinators of the movement–Asif Mahmud, Sarjis Alam, and Abu Baker Majumder, have confirmed their march, The Daily Star reported.
Initially, the “March to Dhaka” was set to take place on Tuesday. However, later, the march was rescheduled for Monday.
In the wake of the deepening crisis, Bangladesh announced the shutdown of public and private offices, including banks, for three days, while students have scheduled a long march for today, setting themselves on a potential collision course with pro-government groups, according to The Daily Star report.
The new wave of protests comes as demonstrators raised only one demand: the resignations of Hasina and her cabinet members. They also initiated a campaign of non-cooperation at the same time, advising citizens not to pay taxes and migrant workers not to remit money home via banking systems.
Over 90 killed in Fresh Protests
At least 93 people were killed as a fresh wave of violence gripped Bangladesh. Over thousands have sustained injuries, many with bullets, the Daily Star reported on Monday. The situation in Bangladesh became more tense after members of the ruling Awami League poured into the streets to quell anti-government demonstrations, turning things violent. The protests in Bangladesh have erupted due to demands for reforming the quota system that reserves civil service jobs for specific groups, including descendants of 1971 war veterans. The unrest intensified after students opposed a new policy allocating government jobs to descendants of freedom fighters, leading to violence, including attacks on state television headquarters and police booths in Dhaka.