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Some people said that the building was constructed with “their money” as they hammered away at bricks and cut rods poking out of the pulled down building.
Protesters and observers gather to see the demolished Dhanmondi-32 residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of the ousted PM Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (IMAGE: REUTERS)
People were seen taking away bricks and cutting rods poking out of Dhanmondi 32 where once the memorial of Bangladesh founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman once stood.
The house, once a national memorial, was attacked earlier this week by miscreants, using excavators owned or leased by the government, when Sheikh Hasina, the ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister gave a speech on Facebook Live.
Hasina’s speech allegedly angered her detractors who then rushed to Dhanmondi 32 to vandalise and burn the building where she lived as a child and saw her father liberate Bangladesh from Pakistan’s clutches with India’s help in 1971.
The Wednesday night attack followed a daylong campaign on social media by Hasina critics and student leaders. They declared a “bulldozer procession” toward Rahman’s house, which was turned into a museum by Hasina. As the protesters stormed the building, police stood by. A team of soldiers later attempted to stop them but then left.
At least two people, accused of being members of Hasina’s Awami League, were beaten by the crowd, according to witnesses.
Videos shared by BBC Bangla and Prothom Alo showed people taking bricks, claiming that the building was made with their money.
The interim government blamed Hasina for the violence but its chief Muhammad Yunus urged people to not attack buildings and sites linked to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Yunus’ press office in a brief statement warned that stern actions would be taken against such acts of violence.
Late on Friday, another statement attributed to Yunus said the interim leader called on all citizens “to immediately restore complete law and order and to ensure there will be no further attacks on” properties associated with the family of Hasina and her supporters.
Mobs targeting supporters of Hasina have vandalized homes and businesses in various parts of the country since Wednesday night. Many of the establishments belonging to former lawmakers, Cabinet members and the leaders of Hasina’s Awami League party were set on fire, apparently as part of a coordinated campaign involving the former home of Bangladesh’s independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman — Hasina’s father — in Dhaka, the capital.
According to a report by The Associated Press, there were reports of some 70 attacks across Bangladesh since Wednesday following the vandalism and arson in Rahman’s home. The country’s leading English-language Daily Star reported Friday that acts of violence targeting Hasina’s supporters took place in at least 20 districts. Channel 24 TV station in Dhaka reported violence in at least 35 districts across the country.
- Location :
Dhaka, Bangladesh
