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The anti-Hasina mobs also held more than two dozen supporters of Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) as hostages in Dhaka read more
 "Bangladesh's anti-Hasina mobs thrash Awami League activists in Dhaka")
Bangladesh's anti-Sheikh Hasina mobs grab a suspected supporter of her Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) party as part of organised violence against the party cadres by students and anti-Hasina parties Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami. (Photo: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP)
Following the ‘second liberation’ of Bangladesh, the targeted violence by the country’s new rulers continued in the streets on Thursday.
Mobs that waged that the movement against ousted premier Sheikh Hasina singled out supporters of her Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) party to beat them and hold them hostage. They had to be rescued by the military.
The BAL supporters were trying to observe the death anniversary of Bangladesh’s Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led the nation’s war of liberation against Pakistan and was its founding president. But the nation’s new rulers have been on a drive to erase Mujib from public memory. Hasina is Mujib’s daughter.
Last week, the mobs opposed to Hasina climbed atop a statue of Mujib and hammered it. A separate video of men urinating on the statue also surfaced. Then, earlier this week, Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh’s new ruler appointed by anti-Hasina forces and military, scrapped the public holiday to mark Mujib’s death anniversary.
Mujib was assassinated along with most of his family on August 15, 1975, at their house in Dhanmondi 32, Dhaka. After the civilian-led democracy returned to Bangladesh, the home was turned into a museum. As part of the nationwide violence since Hasina’s ouster which has singled out BAL supporters and minorities like Hindus, the museum was also burnt by anti-Hasina mobs.
Watch: Mobs beat Hasina supporters in Dhaka
In a video shared by The New York Times’ Mujib Mashal on X (formerly Twitter), armed men opposed to Hasina were seen thrashing people they said belonged to BAL.
“Men armed with clubs and pipes (many identified themselves as BNP or Jamat) thrashing and chasing away anyone they suspect of being Awami League,” said Mashal on X.
The post referred to the radical pro-Pakistan Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami who took over the anti-Hasina movement that was initially led by the students.
Dhaka: Outside 32 Dhanmondi (Sheikh Mujib’s house), its complete mob rule. The victims of yesterday are perpetrators of today: men armed with clubs & pipes (many identified themselves as BNP or Jamat) thrashing and chasing away anyone they suspect of being Awami League. pic.twitter.com/5SVnDSLZOo
— Mujib Mashal (@MujMash) August 15, 2024Writing in The Times, Mashal noted that the BAL was trying to hold the party’s first major gathering since Hasina’s ouster.
Mashal noted that the BAL supporters were trying to mark Mujib’s death anniversary. He noted that people wielding bamboo sticks and plastic pipes assaulted anyone suspected to be a member of BAL.
Army rescued 30 BAL supporters held hostage by mobs: Report
While The Times reported that anti-Hasina mobs of BNP and Jamaat were assaulting and leaving BAL supporters bloodied, The Dhaka Tribune reported that the students were also part of the activities.
The newspaper reported that students detained 30 BAL supporters and held them as hostages.
In the end, the army rescued these 30 supporters, according to the newspaper.
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