Mujibur Rahman’s Dhaka Home Reduced To Ruins By Protestors, Awami League Leaders’ Houses Vandalised

<p>Sheikh Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman&rsquo;s three-story house at Dhanmondi 32 in Dhaka was largely demolished by Thursday morning as the bulldozing which began on Wednesday evening continued a night after protestors rallied in front of the building and tore it down following Hasina’s live online address.</p>
<p>Since then, protestors in Bangladesh have also demolished houses of leaders of the Hasina-led Awami League and also defaced murals of the country’s founder Rahman. Protesters also demolished the Khulna home of Hasina’s cousins Sheikh Helal Uddin (former MP of Bagerhat-1) and Sheikh Salauddin Jewel (former MP of Khulna-2).</p>
<p>The front section of the house, including its boundry walls, was destroyed by morning, but the fire which was started last night was no longer burning. The trees in the yard were also uprooted as a bulldozer reduced the building to rubbles in the morning.</p>
<p>A report by Bangladesh’s Dhaka Tribune noted that no law enforcement or administrative personnel were present at the scene as the bulldozing continued.</p>
<p>However, the angry mob that had gathered to rip the building apart, had dispersed by morning with fewer protesters actively vandalizing the site as a crowd of onlookers watched. People present at the spot told the Dhaka Tribune that the demolition would continue until the entire building was levelled.</p>
<p>The report also said that the demolished residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was looted on Thursday morning. People removed doors, windows, bricks, iron rods, and pipes from the wreckage.&nbsp;Some of them even cut iron rods from the debris using a hacksaw, while others used hammers to break concrete and collect rods. The engine from a burnt-out vehicle parked inside the premises, Dhaka Tribune reported.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Bulldozer operator Sujon Mia said that three of the machine’s teeth have already broken and that demolishing the house was taking time because the structure appeared to be very sturdy.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The unrest began on Wednesday after a live online address of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, following which a &nbsp;a social media call for &ldquo;Bulldozer Procession&rdquo; was made. The speech was broadcast from Bangladesh Awami League’s social media handles last night.</p>
<p>The residence, located on &nbsp;Road 5 in Dhanmondi, was set afire by the angry mob on Wednesday. The crowd grew larger by the passing hour, which was followed by extensive vandalism inside the residence. A bulldozer was brought in last night.</p>
<p>The mural of Mujibur Rahman and his wife Fazilatunnesa Mujib at the Chuadanga deputy commissioner’s office was demolished around 12:15 am on Thursday, the Bangla Daily reported.</p>
<p>Besides this, the homes of former lawmaker of Kushtia-3 and Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif and president of Kushtia Awami League Sadar Khan were ransacked. Demonstrators brought a bulldozer to the house of Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah in Barshal, former mayor of the city corporation and Hasina’s relative. He owns a two-storey home in the city’s Kalibari Road area.</p>
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<p>Protesters used hammers and crowbars to vandalise a mural of Bangabandhu near the Circuit House ground in Mymensingh city around 11:30 pm on Wednesday, Prothom Alo newspaper reported.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, protesters also torched Sudha Sadan, the Dhanmondi residence of Hasina’s late husband and nuclear scientist MA Wazed Miah’s at around 11:00 PM, The Daily Star.</p>
<p>It was announced that ousted PM Hasina, who fled to India following violent protests in Bangladesh, would be joining a virtual session with members of Chhatra League– a banned organisation. Reacting to the news, the July Revolutionary Alliance marched towards Dhanmondi 32, with thousands storming the “pilgrimage site for facism” and began taking it apart at 8:00 PM, an hour before the planned procession.</p>
<p>According to a rpeort by The Daily Star, the army personnel went to the spot at around 9:30 PM, but later left the area. No firefighters reached the spot as of midnight, despite the building being set ablaze at 9:30 PM.</p>