NN Online:
A large number of protesters, including students have set fire to the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32.
Following social media announcements of a “Bulldozer Procession,” protesters stormed into the Bangabandhu Museum in the capital’s Dhanmondi 32 on Wednesday evening, vandalised the residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and torched the building.
The agitators stormed the Bangabandhu Museum premises around 8pm, following an announcement by Hasnat Abdullah, convener of Anti-discrimination Students Movement, on his verified Facebook page declaring that Bangladesh would be freed from the fascist bastion that night.
Agitators were seen breaking the building with hammers. The protesters declared that the house, which had long been associated with the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman family, was a symbol of authoritarianism and fascism.
They expressed their intentions to erase any trace of the so-called “Mujibism” and fascism in the country.
As part of their demonstration, the group chanted slogans demanding the execution of Sheikh Hasina.
Many of the assailants climbed to the second floor of the house, using hammers, crowbars, and wooden planks to destroy portraits of the late leader and other sections of the house. The attack left significant damage to the historic property.
Earlier in the day, Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan also wrote on his account “Let there be festivity.”
Several other prominent figures, including Sharif Osman Hadi, the convener of the Inquilab Front and a member of the Jatiyo Nagorik Committee, also shared posts on social media, warning of the attack and the intention to demolish the house.
Tensions escalated after the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League shared on its verified Facebook page that ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina would address a virtual session at 9pm on Wednesday.
The unrest follows the student-led mass uprising on August 5, 2024, which resulted in the toppling of Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian regime, leading to her fleeing to India. In the aftermath, Dhanmondi 32 was vandalised and set on fire by student protesters and others.
