Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina leaves country in army helicopter amid violence: local media report

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka in a military helicopter amid ongoing violence in the country, local media reported on Monday.

According to the latest reports from Bangladeshi local media, Sheikh Hasina has left for India. However, there is no official confirmation of this.

Media outlet Prothomallo said that Hasina’s military helicopter took off from Bangabhaban, the official residence of the Bangladesh President, at 2:30 pm (local time) today.

Sheikh Hasina’s younger sister Sheikh Rehana was also in the helicopter with her. Prathmalo quoted sources as saying that the Bangladesh Prime Minister left for West Bengal in India by helicopter.

The protesters forcibly opened the gates of Gono Bhaban at around 3pm today and entered the premises of the Prime Minister’s residence, the Daily Star reported.

Thousands of people joined the “Dhaka March” event of the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement at Mirpur 10 roundabout and marched towards Farmgate.

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, citing Bangladesh newspaper The Daily Star, that Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman was asked to make a televised address but was pushed back.

Earlier on August 3, organisers of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement announced a one-point demand for the resignation of Hasina and her cabinet members. Nahid Islam, one of the key organisers, announced this demand at a rally at the Central Shaheed Minar.

This announcement by the anti-discrimination student movement comes after Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina urged agitating students to sit with her at the Gono Bhaban to end the violence centred around the quota reform protests.

She said, “The doors of Gono Bhavan are open. I want to sit with the agitating students and listen to them. I do not want any confrontation.”

he/she made these remarks during a meeting with the central leaders of the Peshjibi Samanoy Parishad (Professional Coordination Council) at the Gono Bhaban on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement has announced that it will hold a “March to Dhaka” event today to press for its one-point demand, which is the resignation of the Sheikh Hasina-led government, the Daily Star reported.

he/she urged students and people across the country to participate in the march to Dhaka. According to The Daily Star report, three coordinators of the movement – Asif Mahmud, Sarjis Alam and Abu Bakar Majumder – have confirmed their march.

Earlier this march was to be held on Tuesday, but later it was postponed to Monday.

In the wake of the deepening crisis, Bangladesh has announced a three-day closure of public and private offices, including banks, while students have scheduled a long march today that could lead them to a confrontation with pro-government groups, the Daily Star reports.

This new wave of protests comes after demonstrators raised a single demand: the resignation of Hasina and members of her cabinet. They also launched a campaign of non-cooperation at the same time, advising citizens not to pay taxes and migrant workers not to send money home through the banking system.

At least 93 people have been killed in a new wave of violence in Bangladesh. Thousands have been injured, many of them with gunshot wounds, the Daily Star reported on Monday.

The situation in Bangladesh became more tense when members of the ruling Awami League took to the streets to suppress anti-government protests and the situation turned violent.

Protests in Bangladesh have been triggered by demands for reform of the quota system, which reserves civil service jobs for specific groups, including descendants of 1971 war veterans.

The unrest escalated after students protested against a new policy allocating government jobs to descendants of freedom fighters, resulting in violence, including attacks on state television headquarters and police booths in Dhaka.