The Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, also known as Bangabandhu Bhaban at Dhanmondi 32 has been set on fire amid anti-government protests in Bangladesh.
Bangabandhu Bhaban was the personal residence of the founding father and former Bangladesh President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is also the father of Sheikh Hasina.
The Bangabandhu memorial museum was dedicated to Mujibur Rahman who was assassinated along with his wife and their three sons while serving as president by disgruntled Army officers on 15 August 1975.
Bangabandhu Bhaban at Dhanmondi 32, Dhaka completely gutted. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman lived in this house. This place also housed a museum. Bangladesh’s history in ashes. This is heartbreaking! pic.twitter.com/fCqgqIDyMe
— Nayanima Basu (@NayanimaBasu) August 5, 2024
Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana had survived the purge as they were abroad. Hasina then spent six years in exile in India. The famous landmark was set on fire by the protestors at around 3 pm on Monday.
Thousands of protesters also looted and vandalised Sheikh Hasina’s official residence in the capital Dhaka and torched several key building including the Awami League Dhaka district office and the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre. Four Hindu temples suffered minor damages across the country, eyewitnesses and a community leader said.
The vandalisation comes after jubilant crowds took to the streets on Monday to celebrate their victory after Army chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman announced Hasina’s resignation.
Bangladesh Parliament.
From Democracy to Mobocracy. pic.twitter.com/LnXQ7NPJXw
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) August 5, 2024
Videos also showed protesters vandalising the statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. A video has also surfaced showing protesters chiseling away at the statue’s head with an axe.
They were seen celebrating on the Ganabhaban premises waving their hands in the air, while others were seen walking away with sofas and even chairs. Footage on social media showed protesters climbing a statue of Hasina’s father in Ganabhaban and smashing it with hammers.
The home of Dr Wajed Miah, Hasina’s husband, was not spared either in the vortex of violence, according to local reports said. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan’s house was ransacked.
The crowd also entered the Parliament building. People were seen taking things from inside the parliament building. A large number of protesters broke through the main gate of the police headquarters and ransacked the building.
