Sudha Sadan set on fire; Helal鈥檚 Khulna house, Hanif鈥檚 Kushtia house bulldozed; RU hall nameplates removed; Mujib portrait, murals vandalised in Ctg
A large mass of people, including students, in the early hours on Thursday demolished the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum building at Dhanmondi in Dhaka city after hours of vandalism at the historic building since Wednesday evening.听
The agitated mob stormed the residence of the country鈥檚 founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at about 8:00pm on Wednesday and rampaged through the property already wrecked by mass protesters on August 5 immediately after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.
Meanwhile, unidentified people set fire to the Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 late husband鈥檚 house Sudha Sadan in Dhanmondi area at about 11:00pm, said witnesses.
Fire service duty officer Rakibul Hasan said that they received the reports of fire at about 11:30pm but no firefighters were sent to the spot.
Witnesses said that a bulldozer, arriving at the spot midnight past Wednesday, started felling trees and razing the historic building to the ground.
Before the arrival of the bulldozer, the agitators were seen to fetch a private company crane at the site.听
The Dhanmondi 32 building was also set on fire at one point of the vandalism and the mob was also seen rejoice the destruction.
The property was the residence of the country鈥檚 founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman until a group of army personnel assassinated him along with all but two of his family members in the early hours of August 15, 1975, at the residence.
Over a thousand agitators stormed the museum premises at about 8:00pm after Student Against Discrimination convener Hasnat Abdullah announced on his verified Facebook page that Bangladesh would be freed of the bastions of fascism on Wednesday night.
Programmes on social media platforms were also announced immediately after Hasnat鈥檚 announcement, urging people to join the 鈥楤ulldozer Procession鈥� to demolish the Dhanmondi 32 building.
Agitators were seen hitting the building with hammers and setting it on fire.
Local government and youth and sports adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan also wrote on his account 鈥楲et there be festivities鈥�.
Hasnat鈥檚 call came amid a tense situation centring an announcement on social media that now ousted prime minister and Awami League president Sheikh Hasina would address the country鈥檚 students and youths virtually on Wednesday evening.
Later, AL鈥檚 official Facebook page aired a live audio speech of Sheikh Hasina, now sheltered in India.
The speech was delivered at a time when the Dhanomndi residence of her father and party leaders鈥� residences in other places of the country came under attack.
Witnesses said that the police did not create any major obstacles to those marching towards the Dhanmondi 32 building.
A private company crane was reached at the Dhanmondi-32 and entered into the Mujib鈥檚 building at about 11:00pm.
Many of the agitators were seen chanting slogans like 鈥楴ara e Takbeer Allahu Akbar鈥�, 鈥楳ujibbad Murdabad Inquilab Zindabad鈥�, 鈥楽wairacharer Astana Bhenge Dao Guriye Dao鈥�.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ramna Division deputy commissioner Masud Alam refused to comment on the situation when contacted.
Minutes before the attack on Dhanmondi 32 building, DMP joint commissioner for crime Md Faruk Hossain said that they had deployed additional police forces in and around the Dhanmondi 32 property, which was later turned into a museum by the past Awami League regime.
During the incident, the road in front of the building was packed with several thousand people, causing huge traffic congestion in the surrounding areas.听
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During the vandalising of the Dhanmondi 32 building, Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 cousin Sheikh Helal Uddin鈥檚 residence in Khulna city was also bulldozed by a mass of people and students at about 8:40pm, witnesses said.听
In another incident, students and people also bulldozed the residence of AL joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif in Kusthia town at about 9:30pm, witnesses said.
At Dhanmondi-32, members of the Bangladesh Army were seen entering the premises at about 9:30pm but they immediately retreated as the agitators chanting slogans against them. No police personnel were seen guarding the building at the time.
People were seen taking away the bricks, doors and other materials from the vandalised property.
During the vandalism, documentaries on the July-August uprising were also screened on a large screen installed near the building by the Dhanmondi Lake.
A student-led mass uprising on August 5, 2024 toppled the authoritarian regime of Sheikh Hasina who fled to India on the day.
The same evening, Dhanmondi 32 building was vandalised and set on fire by student-mass protesters.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ran his political activities from the Dhanmondi-32 residence that was damaged during the War of Independence in 1971 and was later repaired.
The building was listed as a national heritage in 2009 by the Rajdhani Unnyan Kartipakkha.
In Rajshahi, several hundred students broke down the nameplates of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall, Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Hall, under-construction Sheikh Hasina Hall and Shahid AHM Kamaruzzaman Hall and Sheikh Russel Model School on the Rajshahi University campus between 9:30pm and 11:00pm on Wednesday, 抖阴精品 staff correspondent in Rajshahi reported.
The Student Against Discrimination in Chattogram brought out a torch procession at Jamal Khan crossing demanding trial of Awami League and its allies on Wednesday night, 抖阴精品 staff correspondent in Chattogram reported.听
They vandalised and set fire to Sheikh Mujubur Rahman鈥檚 mural on a wall before passing near Gani Bakery area.
Meanwhile, about 9:40pm, they also vandalised the Mujib鈥檚 mural near Chattogram Medical College Hospital鈥檚 main gate, chanting anti-AL slogans in presence of police.
On Wednesday night, protesters also vandalised Mujib murals in Khulna University.
