Bangladesh protesters torch family home of ousted PM Sheikh Hasina

As his daughter, ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, whose supporters were urged to speak out against the interim government in a ferocious social media speech, thousands of protesters in Bangladesh demolished and set fire to the country’s founding leader’s home.

Hasina planned to deliver a speech to supporters in neighboring India on Wednesday night, where she fled after a deadly student uprising against her 15-year rule. She was accused of stifling opposition by critics.

The house in the capital, Dhaka, had been home to Hasina’s late father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led the country’s independence from Pakistan in 1971. In 1975, he was killed there. The home was later converted into a museum by Hasina.

According to news reports, several thousand protesters, some armed with sticks, hammers and other tools, gathered around the historic house and independence monument, while others brought a crane and excavator to demolish the building on Wednesday night.

The building almost completely burned, according to photos posted on social media and obtained by news organizations.

A series of attacks overnight also targeted several homes and businesses owned by Hasina’s Awami League supporters, according to the nation’s top English-language newspaper, early on Thursday.

The rally was organised alongside a broader call, dubbed “Bulldozer Procession”, to disrupt Hasina’s scheduled online address on Wednesday night.

‘Symbolic of fascism’

Protesters, many aligned with the Students Against Discrimination group, had expressed their fury over Hasina’s speech, which they viewed as a challenge to the newly formed interim government.

Hasnat Abdullah, the group’s student leader, had warned the media of Hasina’s speech and posted on Facebook on Wednesday that “Bangladesh will be freed from the pilgrimage site of fascism” in advance.

Mahmudur Rahman, an 18-year-old student, claimed he joined the demonstration because he thought it was necessary to destroy the “symbol of fascism.”

Another protester, Mohammad Arefin, said there was no reason for the house to remain standing.

“Since we, the students, have formed the government through revolution, we find it legitimate to demolish it”.

Hasina has been living in exile in India since fleeing Bangladesh in August, but she has since chanted slogans there.

An interim government in Bangladesh led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus&nbsp, has sought Hasina’s extradition but&nbsp, India has not responded.

Many of the protesters also chanted slogans demanding Hasina’s execution for hundreds of deaths during last year’s uprising against her, one of the country’s worst upheavals since independence. Hasina has urged that the deaths be investigated by the UN.

During her 15 years in office, the ousted prime minister was accused of coordinating extrajudicial killings and suppressing opposition voices.

In her speech on Wednesday, Hasina remained defiant, saying, “They can demolish a building, but not the history. History takes its revenge”.

She also urged Bangladesh’s citizens to rebel against the interim government, accusing them of securing power in an unconstitutional manner.