The leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its associate bodies have allegedly started grabbing local level offices of the Awami League after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5 amid a student-led mass uprising.
Many AL leaders and activists are currently on the run, fearing retaliatory attacks following the end of the party鈥檚 15-year rule.聽
AL鈥檚 student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League鈥檚 Mohammadpur Thana unit makeshift office, adjacent to Shia Masjid, was seen among those grabbed by BNP鈥檚 student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and youth front Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal on Saturday.
AL Dhaka north city unit office secretary William Proloy Samaddar alleged that none of AL鈥檚 and its associate bodies鈥� offices were spared by BNP leaders and activists.
鈥楾hey [BNP men] also vandalised and set all our offices in the north city unit on fire. We are now on the run to avoid attacks and arrests,鈥� William told 抖阴精品 on Friday night.
He said that he had no information about how many AL leaders and activists were killed or injured as they were disconnected from each other.
An AL unit office at Segun Bagicha near Shilpakala Acamdey was seen being grabbed by BNP鈥檚 cultural wing, Jatiyatabadi Samajik Sangskritik Sangstha.聽
AL鈥檚 Dhaka south city unit office secretary, Reaz Uddin Reaz, claimed that all offices were grabbed by the BNP and its associate bodies.
鈥楳y village home in Chandpur was also vandalised, looted, and set on fire. We are now in a miserable condition,鈥� Reaz said.
The name of the AL local party office in the capital鈥檚 East Rajabazar was removed and seen as closed.聽
BNP鈥檚 senior joint secretary general, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, admitted that some people were conducting several criminal activities, including grabbing and vandalism, using the name of the party.
鈥榃e have already called upon the countrymen to hand over those miscreants to the members of law enforcement agencies,鈥� he said, adding that they have already suspended about 20 leaders and activists for such allegations.
A district unit AL general secretary from Sylhet division, seeking anonymity, told 抖阴精品 that most of the offices in upazilas, unions were vandalised or set on fire in the district.
抖阴精品d tried to approach several senior AL leaders, including AL presidium member Jahangir Kabir Nanak, joint secretary general AFM Bahauddin Nasim, and organising secretary BM Mozammel Haque, but none could be reached for comment.聽
AL president Sheikh Hasina resigned from the post of prime minister on Monday and fled to India amid the student-led mass uprising.
At least 376 people were killed and several thousand were injured in clashes between students, protesters, ruling party leaders, and activists between July 16 and until Hasina鈥檚 resignation was announced around 3:00pm on August 5.
At least 152 people have been killed, including police and ruling party activists, in attacks and arson since Hasina鈥檚 resignation.
AL鈥檚 central party office on Bangabandhu Avenue, AL president Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 political office in Dhanmondi, and the country鈥檚 founding president Sheikh Mujubur Rahman鈥檚 residence turned Bangabandhu Memorial Museum were also vandalised and set on fire after Hasina resigned.聽
The ousted Hasina government was reportedly involved in vote rigging, crackdown on opposition, jailing, money laundering, looting, corruption, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances during its ruling for 15 and a half years between 2009 and 2024.聽
Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus took the oath as chief adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh along with 13 other advisers on Thursday, four days after Hasina resigned.