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On the morning of August 5, amid pressure from military commanders to step down, Hasina reportedly told them: “So you shoot me and bury me here, in Ganabhaban.”
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (Image: Reuters)
Several details have emerged about what went behind the ouster of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who eventually fled to India hours before protesters entered the Prime Minister’s official residence, Ganabhaban on August 5, 2024.
During a hearing at the International Crimes Tribunal, chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam revealed that Hasina stood defiant at Ganabhaban and refused to bend to the rising tide when she was asked by the army officers to resign amid violent student protests, according to a report by Prothom Alo.
On the morning of August 5, amid pressure from military commanders to step down, Hasina reportedly told them: “So you shoot me and bury me here, in Ganabhaban,” Islam revealed.
However, she fled to India from Dhaka after her son convinced her to do so.
The chief prosecutor also submitted a formal charge concerning crimes against humanity in Dhaka’s Chankharpul during the last year’s student protests.
He also gave a glimpse into what caused Hasina’s ouster on August 4 and 5 last year.
The night before, on August 4, Ganabhaban had become a pressure point. Ministers, security chiefs, and ruling party veterans convened in what Tajul described as a “tense and volatile” crisis meeting.
According to the prosecutor, it was then Parliament speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury who first asked Hasina to step down. However, several top leaders of the ruling Awami League rejected the idea.
The then-defence adviser, Major General (Retd) Tariq Ahmed Siddique, suggested that Hasina resign. However, she angrily rejected the idea, Islam said.
Refusing to give up power, Hasina ordered the army chief to confront the protestors.
At the late-night meeting, according to Islam, Siddique had suggested the army shoot at some protesters. He even proposed firing at the crowd in Dhaka from helicopters, the report said. Reacting to this, an infuriated Bangaldesh Air Force chief told Hasina, “He (Tariqu) has sunk you, and he will sink you again”.
The next morning, in another meeting, IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun told Hasina that the situation had turned worse and the forces did not have enough ammunition to confront the protestors, said Tajul Islam.
It was after this that the top military officers again asked Hasina to resign, but she refused
By dawn on August 5, the pressure was unbearable. Police forces had run out of arms and ammunition. The IGP confessed they could no longer contain the surging crowds.
It was then that the military made one final plea. “The protesters are flooding Dhaka from all sides,” they warned. The writing was on the wall. Sheikh Rehana, Hasina’s sister, reportedly fell to her knees, clutching Hasina’s feet, begging her to step down, according to Tajul Islam.
But the prime minister stood her ground until her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, was brought into the fold. It was Joy who finally persuaded her.
Hours later, she fled to India, where she remains in self-imposed exile.
The Bangladeshi interim government has since issued an arrest warrant against the former prime minister, accusing her of direct involvement in crimes against humanity.
- Location :
Dhaka, Bangladesh
- First Published:
