Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had been in power for the past 15 years, resigned and fled the country on Monday noon by a helicopter after weeks of deadly unrest in which more than 300 people have been killed.
The country is now set to have an interim government.
Later in the day, Ms. Hasina landed at the Hindon Air Force station near Delhi. Ms. Hasina has requested asylum from the U.K. Her sister Rehana, who holds U.K. citizenship, is accompanying her, sources told The Hindu.
In Dhaka, Army Chief Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman confirmed her resignation in an address to the nation on Monday. He urged protesters to stop the unrest and pledged to meet their demands and bring justice for those who were killed.
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He said he would talk to the President to form the interim government and had held talks with the main Opposition parties and civil society members, but not the Awami League, Ms. Hasina’s party. The Army chief will also hold a meeting with protesting student leaders.
“I am taking full responsibility. If the situation gets better, there is no need for an emergency. We hope to go towards a better situation together. The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, and many people have been killed. It is time to stop the violence,” said the General.
On Monday, as a part of the ‘March to Dhaka’ campaign demanding Ms. Hasina’s resignation, called by the Students Against Discrimination, thousands started gathering at the main points of Dhaka, defying a curfew order.
Police stopped them in some parts but could not hold them for long as thousands mobilised on the streets.
Around 3 p.m. local time, protesters breached the police barricades and opened the gates of the Gonobhaban, the Prime Minister’s official residence, and entered its premises.
A source close to Ms. Hasina confirmed that before leaving the residence, she wanted to record a speech. But she could not get an opportunity to do that. She and her sister were taken to a motorcade and was told that a huge crowd had already gathered nearby and that they must not waste time. Immediately, the security team took her to the Second World War-era airport at Old Tejgaon. She and her sister were brought to the airstrip and were airlifted in a Mi-17 helicopter. Later, they got onto a Bangladesh Air Force C-130 transport aircraft and arrived at the Hindon Air Force station.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chief of Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Western Air Command Air Marshal PM Sinha met Ms. Hasina at Hindon.
Ms. Hasina is expected to stay in India for a one or two nights as the approval for asylum in the U.K. is awaited, an official source said. The Indian High Commission staff continue to remain in Dhaka, sources confirmed.
Dhaka remains tense
Protesters joining from different parts of Dhaka were seen storming Gonobhaban, overturning furniture, smashing glass doors, and taking away different items. They were also seen dancing and chanting slogans against Ms. Hasina on the premises of the Prime Minister’s residence and elsewhere in Dhaka.
Following news of Ms. Hasina’s resignation, numerous Awami League offices across the country were attacked and looted. Protesters were also seen storming the residences of Awami League politicians, including former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan.
Renowned Bangladeshi photographer and human rights activist Shahidul Alam, participating in the protests at Shahbagh, Dhaka, told The Hindu, “Beautiful moments descended into the capital and Bangladesh as a whole as tyrant Sheikh Hasina finally stepped down. See the joy of people who have been denied the joys by her regime over a decade.”
Ms. Hasina was serving her fourth straight term in office since assuming power in 2009, and her fifth overall.
Students began protesting last month when a controversial government job quota system that favoured children of war veterans was reinstated by the High Court. The government responded by shutting down universities, and using the police and military to crack down on protesters.
On July 21, Bangladesh’s top court stepped in, ruling that the quotas should be scaled back from 30% to 5%, with three per cent for relatives of veterans.
Last week, demonstrations resumed with protesters issuing new demands, including bringing justice and accountability for those killed and for Ms. Hasina to step down.
Rabiul Alam is reporting from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
(With inputs from Dinakar Peri in New Delhi)
