Dhaka (5/8 – 57/14). Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina flees on Monday multiple sources said, as more people were killed in some of the worst violence since the birth of the South Asian nation more than five decades ago. Estimates of the death toll reach up to 300 killed in unrests.
Army chief General Waker-Us-Zaman said in a televised address that Hasina had left the country and that an interim government would be formed.
Media reports said she had flown in a military helicopter with her sister and was headed to India. Various television channel said she had landed in Agartala, the capital of India’s northeastern state of Tripura.
Protesters have stormed its premises. The protests, which began late last month, escalated dramatically when student activists at Dhaka University, the largest in the country, clashed violently with police and pro-government counter-protesters.
The roots of these protests lie in a controversial quota system, which reserves up to 30 per cent of government jobs for family members of veterans from Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence against Pakistan.
The 76-year old secured a fourth consecutive term in January through elections boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, faces accusations of entrenching power through state institutions and suppressing dissent.
The protesting students have announced a “March To Dhaka” programme today.
Houses of public representatives, 20 Awami League offices, police stations and other government installations were attacked, vandalised and torched in 39 districts. Clashes between protesters and leaders of the Awami League and its associate organisations were reported in several districts. Demonstrators blocked major highways and launched a non-cooperation program, escalating the violence nationwide. Police stations and ruling party offices became targets, with reports of severe clashes and significant casualties. Thirteen policemen were beaten to death in Sirajganj, and homes of two lawmakers were set on fire.