Bangladesh unrest: Bangladesh army guards cops hiding in police station amid heightened tensions

With the situation still tense in the areas along the India-Bangladesh border after Sheikh Hasina resigned as Bangladesh Prime Minister and fled to neighbouring India last week, the country’s army was guarding police personnel hiding in police stations.

Amid the students’ protests against Sheikh Hasina, several police stations across Bangladesh, including the capital Dhaka, were vandalised, looted and set on fire, forcing several policemen to escape and go into hiding.

While some policemen are reporting for duty at some places where the violence has ebbed, most of them remain in hiding due to threats of more attacks.

In Meharpur, situated near the India-Bangladesh border, the Bangladesh army guarded a police station and police personnel were hiding inside it. There are heightened tensions in the border district as several houses belonging to Hindus were burnt during the unrest.

Earlier, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who took oath as the chief adviser of the interim government, requested the policemen to return to duty. Despite his call, most of them remain in hiding.

Protests, largely by students, began in Bangladesh in June over a controversial job quota system that widened into an anti-government movement against Sheikh Hasina after the military cracked down on the demonstrations.

On August 5, Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India, marking an end to her 15-year-long rule as the student protests turned violent. Following her departure from Dhaka, several houses and properties belonging to Hindus were looted, vandalised and set ablaze.

According to reports, minority communities in the Muslim-majority nation have faced at least 205 incidents of attacks in 52 districts since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Yunus has called for a meeting with Hindu students and community members on Monday to discuss issues raised by them related to targeted attacks on the community.

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