Police vehicles vandalised as clashes intensify around Dhanmondi 32
Tear gas, baton charges, and sound grenades were used to disperse demonstrators, who repeatedly regrouped.
Amid heavy deployment of security forces, including members of the Bangladesh Army, Border Guard Bangladesh and Rapid Action Battalion, three police vehicles were vandalised by an agitated crowd near Dhanmondi 32 in Dhaka this evening (17 November), reportedly leaving several cops injured.
A number of demonstrators were also reportedly hurt as chase and counter-chase continued throughout the day.
According to Dhanmondi Police Station officials, since morning, large numbers of protesters under the banner of "Red July" had gathered at Dhanmondi 32 with the intention of demolishing the remaining structure of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's historic residence. Their numbers swelled throughout the day.
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By noon, they arrived with two excavators, but law enforcement officers blocked their attempt to move toward the site. Vehicular movement on Mirpur Road remained suspended since noon, and most shops in the area kept their shutters down amid the unrest.
Tear gas, baton charges, and sound grenades were used to disperse the demonstrators, who repeatedly regrouped despite the pressure.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (Ramna Division) Md Masud Alam said, "They [Red July] came to demolish the building. We tried to persuade them to stop."
From 1pm to evening, clashes broke out intermittently between protesters and law enforcement personnel in the Kalabagan, Shukrabad, and Panthapath areas, particularly near Square Hospital. Although the situation calmed somewhat after sunset, tension flared again in the Shukrabad area.
Eyewitnesses reported that protesters were demonstrating near the Shukrabad police box around 6:30pm when a police bus was entering Dhanmondi 32. The crowd began chanting "fake, fake" at the police. A police officer inside the bus allegedly made an offensive hand gesture, prompting protesters to hurl brickbats at the vehicle. The bus sped toward Dhanmondi 32, but the military personnel stationed there prevented the crowd from entering the restricted zone.
Three to four minutes later, two more police vehicles attempted to move from Dhanmondi 27 toward Shukrabad. Protesters again attacked the vehicles with bricks from multiple directions, shattering all the windows of one police bus and damaging the windows of another police van.
Around 7pm, a section of the protesters moved toward Dhanmondi 27, where police had blocked the road. Demonstrators continued chanting slogans at the law enforcement officers from close range.
By late evening, additional police and army personnel had been deployed across the area in an effort to restore control.
When asked to identify the protesters, Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Dhanmondi Zone officials – Additional Deputy Commissioner Jishanul Haque and Assistant Commissioner Shah Mostafa Tariquzzaman – said they could not confirm the group's identity.
"They are an agitated group of people. Some of them even vandalised one of our troop-carrying buses. I don't know the name of their organisation," one official said. Reporters at the scene, however, observed placards and heard slogans associated with groups named "Red July" and "Inqilab Mancha", though protesters declined to confirm any organisational ties.
"We hope she [Hasina] receives the highest punishment. We came here to remove the remnants of fascist Sheikh Hasina," said Md Saeed, a protester from Jatrabari.
The day's unrest followed shortly after the International Crimes Tribunal delivered its verdict sentencing ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death for crimes against humanity.
Meanwhile, the interim government has urged citizens nationwide to maintain calm and restraint following the "historic verdict".
In a statement, the interim government requested everyone to refrain from any kind of unruly behavior, provocation, violence, or unlawful activities.
Earlier in the day, when police and military personnel dispersed protesters attempting to move toward the Mujib residence with bulldozers, an unexploded sound grenade thrown by protesters detonated, injuring a soldier whose foot began bleeding.
As protesters retreated, police and military cordoned off both ends of Dhanmondi 32. One bulldozer could not be unloaded from its truck, while the driver of the second abandoned the vehicle and fled.
Shortly afterward, protesters regrouped at the Mirpur Road entrance to Dhanmondi 32 and blockaded the road, chanting slogans. Due to heavy police and military deployment, no one was allowed to approach the historic 32 Road.
On 5 August last year, after Sheikh Hasina fled the country, the historic residence at Dhanmondi 32 was attacked, looted, and set on fire.
Six months later, on 5 February, protesters partially demolished the building during a "bulldozer procession."
Sporadic gatherings, vandalism, and renewed calls for its demolition continued in the following months, prompting heightened security measures and frequent deployments of police and military personnel around the site.
