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Published : 07 Feb 2025, 05:09 AM
More than 24 hours after the rampage began, a truck rolled through the shattered gates of the house at Dhanmondi Road No 32 – once home to independence leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – just past midnight on Thursday.
Moments later, a group of men began tugging at the charred remains of a burnt-out car. With brute force, they hauled it onto the truck and drove away.
But they were not the only ones scavenging from the ruins. By 11pm, hundreds had gathered, most looking to claim whatever they could. Some even arrived with rickshaws to cart away their loot.
All around the three-story house, the sound of destruction echoed.
Hammers and chisels clattered as people chipped away at whatever remained. Hacksaw blades screeched against metal rods.
After a full day of looting, anything still standing was fair game.
No one spoke. No one watched. Everyone was too busy taking.
The house on Road No 32 in Dhanmondi was reduced to ruins after ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who grew up here and is now in exile in India, addressed online the activists of her party's now-outlawed student front Bangladesh Chhatra League.
The house became an iconic symbol in Bangladesh’s history, serving as the base from which Sheikh Mujib led the pre-independence autonomy movement for decades. Once transformed into Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, it became a place of visit for foreign heads of state and government and dignitaries in line with state protocol.
From 9pm on Wednesday until late Thursday night, waves of indiscriminate vandalism have stripped the structure to its bare bones, its skeletal remains emerging from the wreckage.
By afternoon, after hours of vandalism and looting, a cow was slaughtered on the premises. A feast was arranged amid the ruins.
News of the destruction spread swiftly, dominating headlines across the country.
From Wednesday night into Thursday, statues, murals, and other structures bearing the names of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib and the Sheikh family were defaced in districts across Bangladesh. Nameplates were torn down.
In the aftermath, the homes of Awami League leaders were set ablaze, while party offices in multiple districts were left to burn.
Meanwhile, the interim government has placed blame for the chaos squarely on Hasina. Police officials maintained they had made efforts to intervene, yet no officers were seen at the epicenter of the destruction at Road No 32 throughout the night.
A military unit arrived briefly but withdrew just as quickly - derided with chants of “bhua, bhua” or “fake, fake,” from thousands of students and onlookers.
Amid the unrest, Hasina’s residence, Sudha Sadan, on Dhanmondi Road No 5, was set ablaze around 10:45pm on Wednesday. The flames raged through the night and into Thursday evening, unchecked.
The fire service never arrived.
The “bulldozer march” toward Dhanmondi Road No 32 was scheduled for 9pm on Wednesday, but the crowds did not wait.
More than an hour earlier, people surged forward, forcing their way inside. The main gate fell first—torn down by bare hands, sticks, and small hammers. Then, they began entering in waves.
Doors, windows, stair railings, and balcony grilles were smashed apart, often with nothing but raw force. Amid the chaos, some danced to music blaring from a large sound system.
By midnight, cranes and excavators arrived, and the systematic demolition of the concrete structure began.
The wrecking continued through the night and into Thursday, as crowds swarmed the remains. By midday, the demolition was abruptly halted but the looting remained unrestrained.
Bricks, wooden beams, and metal rods were carted away piece by piece.
People moved swiftly, carrying cut rods, broken grilles, and wooden planks from inside the ruins, piling them onto the roadside before hauling them away in rickshaws and vans.
By morning, the plunder of the demolished structure was in full force.
From the two leveled buildings and the museum annex behind them, nothing was spared.
Hands and rickshaws alike ferried away whatever could be taken—rods, bricks, and debris.
Metal fixtures were hacked apart with hammers, axes, and hacksaw blades. Books, documents, posters, furniture, and showpieces vanished in large numbers, lost to the frenzy.
This house was first set ablaze on Aug 5, 2024, the day Hasina fell amid a violent uprising led by the Anti-discrimination Student Movement. Then, after hours of relentless vandalism on Wednesday, everything flammable inside was set on fire once again.
What began on Dhanmondi Road No 32 house did not remain confined to its walls as the wave of vandalism and arson had already started spreading across the country from the night before.
As night fell on Thursday, the flames and fury showed no signs of abating.
Incidents of vandalism and arson have been reported from Khulna, Khulna University and BL College, Bhola, Pabna, Barishal, Sylhet, Jashore, Pirojpur, Narayanganj, Noakhali, Jahangirnagar University, Mymensingh, Jhalakathi, Narsingdi, Brahmanbaria, Chuadanga, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Nazrul University, Pabna, Tangail, Lakshmipur, Savar, Chapainawabganj, Jamalpur, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet, Pirojpur, Panchagarh, Manikganj, Naogaon, Gaibandha, Feni, Chittagong University, and Kishoreganj.
From sculptures and murals to plaques and nameplates honouring Sheikh Mujib and his family, symbols of his legacy were systematically torn down.
The violence reached the homes of political leaders as well—residences of Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader and senior leaders Tofail Ahmed, and Amir Hossain Amu were ransacked and set ablaze.
UNHINDERED LOOTING IN BROAD DAYLIGHT
Looting resumed early in the morning at the site of the demolished building.
From the two demolished buildings and the museum annex behind them, people carried away whatever they could—rods, bricks, and debris—hauling them off by hand or loading them onto rickshaws.
Throughout the day, the clatter of metal being severed echoed through the ruins as rods and grilles were hacked apart with hammers, axes, and hacksaw blades. Books, documents, posters, furniture, and decorative pieces vanished in a frenzied sweep.
Cut rods, wooden beams, and broken grilles were dragged out from the wreckage, stacked in piles, and swiftly loaded onto waiting rickshaws and vans, disappearing from sight as the remnants of the building were carried away piece by piece.
Amid the chaos, a man who identified himself as Sirajul, a resident of Hazaribagh, was loading looted items onto a van.
When asked what he planned to do with them, he answered plainly: “We’ll take them to a junk shop and sell them—what else? Everyone is taking something, so I took what I could.”
Amid the wreckage, a man named Sujan was seen cutting rods from the crumbling structure. “They are breaking it apart, so we are also taking something,” he said. “Whatever we can get, we will take.”
Even at midday, the flow of people in and out of the six-storey museum building at the back showed no sign of slowing. Hundreds moved through its halls, some emerging with books in hand—volumes on Bangabandhu, now carried off along with the rest.
In front of the two half-destroyed buildings, a crowd gathered—some capturing the moment on their phones, snapping pictures and recording videos. From time to time, chants erupted, voices rising over the ruins.
Jihadul Islam, standing amid the scene, gestured toward the wreckage. “Where has the pride of power gone? Where has the pain of losing relatives gone?” he asked. “People couldn’t even walk past this house in broad daylight. Look at it now.”
As the demolition continued, tensions flared. Around 11:30am, a woman and two others were beaten by students and onlookers, accused of being Awami League supporters.
Witnesses recounted how the woman was attacked after shouting “Joy Bangla”, while a man was set upon for uttering “Apar Bari”, or "Hasina's house", in conversation. Both were chased away as the frenzy outside the ruins intensified.
AMID RUINS, A COW SLAUGHTERED FOR BIRYANI
On Thursday afternoon, an organisation called July Oikyo Jote brought a cow to the ruins of the house on Road No 32. At around 4:15pm, it was slaughtered on the site of the demolished residence.
Saeed Ahmed, a spokesperson for the group, told reporters that the act was part of a celebration marking the destruction of the house, which he called “a symbol of fascism”. The meat, he said, would be used to prepare biryani, which would be served to those gathered at the scene.
As the cow was brought before the ruins of the house, a crowd quickly formed around it. From the moment of slaughter to the cutting of meat and the cooking that followed, people remained gathered, watching intently. Large pots were brought in, and the meal was prepared on-site.
Amid the spectacle, many seized the moment for social media. Phones were raised, videos recorded, and live streams broadcast—Facebook Live and other platforms filled with images of the gathering, capturing the event as it unfolded.
SUDHA SADAN: SET ABLAZE BY NIGHT, RANSACKED BY DAY
Amid the ongoing situation at Dhanmondi 32, a fire was started at Hasina's residence Sudha Sadan on Dhanmondi Road No 5 on Wednesday.
A security guard from the Dhanmondi Society said a group of youths arrived between 10:30pm and 11pm and set Sudha Sadan ablaze. Several parts of the building were still in flames from the night before.
People then whisked away rods, sofas, chairs, tables, half-burnt furniture, air conditioners, refrigerators and other things from the house.
Saleha Akter, who was loading a rickshaw with material she took to sell for scrap, said: “Everything is burnt and many people came and took away whatever they could. I’m also taking away small things I found. I hope to get some money by selling them.”
The house was named after Hasina’s husband, MA Wazed Miah, who was nicknamed Sudha Miah.
According to a local who lived in the apartment opposite Sudha Sadan, Hasina stayed in the house during the reign of the caretaker government and took part in the 2008 election from there.
The house also served as an Awami League office for some time, but was later locked up. Hasina would travel there and stay on different significant days and the house was overseen by a huge number of security personnel during the Awami League regime.
Sudha Sadan was attacked on Aug 5, 2024. Later, army personnel arrived and locked up the house.
A NIGHT OF UNRELENTING VANDALISM
On Wednesday, a large number of people gathered in front of Sheikh Mujib’s house from 8pm, broke through the public gate and started vandalising it. Sticks and axes were used and people started breaking up and carrying away parts of windows, grills, wood, and gates.
Following the vandalism, fires were set inside once again. The building next to the house was also set on fire.
About 3,000 people had gathered around the building when a crane and excavator began to demolish it around 11:15pm. More than half the building was demolished overnight.
Earlier, a documentary on the July uprising was being screened on a projector in an open space opposite the house, organised by the Anti-discrimination Student Movement.
A loudspeaker announcement declared, “We are showing a documentary on the movement. Those who want to demolish, go ahead. Let others watch the documentary in peace.”
Despite prior statements about heightened security in Dhanmondi, only two police vans were seen on the street, with no significant law-enforcing presence in the area.
Around midnight, when army personnel arrived in front of the house on Road No. 32, students and protesters chanted “fake, fake” slogans.
The army withdrew shortly after.
Around 2:45am, the demolition of Bangabandhu’s house was ongoing, with thousands gathered, chanting slogans. Some were seen dancing to music played on loudspeakers.
WHAT DO THE GOVT AND POLICE HAVE TO SAY?
Asked what initiative police had taken to prevent the attack and vandalism of Sheikh Mujib's home on Dhanmondi Road No. 32 on Wednesday night, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sheikh Md Sazzat Ali said that they had tried.
“We tried to bring the situation under control,” he said on Thursday. “We tried. I was there by myself late into the night.”
When asked if he had heard about attacks on journalists, the DMP chief said: “I was there until around 2-2:30am. I didn’t receive any information on attacks on journalists.”
The commissioner took questions from the media on Thursday at the inaugural ceremony for the counters and e-ticket counters of a new bus service in Dhaka’s Uttara.
Meanwhile, the Chief Advisor’s Office has described the demolition of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s residence on Road 32 in Dhanmondi as “undesirable,” blaming Hasina’s “provocative speech” for the incident.
In a statement on Thursday, the chief advisor’s press wing said: “Sheikh Hasina’s provocative statements against the July coup while in India have fueled public anger, which has been expressed.”
Earlier, the Awami League had announced that Hasina would deliver a virtual address Wednesday night, a move that immediately provoked sharp reactions from the Anti-discrimination Student Movement.
Hasnat Abdullah, convenor of the group, wrote in a Facebook post: “Allowing Hasina to deliver a speech is an act of war by India against the anti-fascist people of Bangladesh.”
Later, at 6:30pm on Wednesday, Hasnat posted again, saying: “Tonight, Bangladesh’s shrine of ‘fascism’ will be liberated.”
The press statement issued by the chief advisor’s press wing asserted no attacks or acts of vandalism had taken place at Bangabandhu’s house on Road No 32 in the past six months.
It further noted that the incident was directly linked to Hasina’s remarks on Wednesday which has two parts.
“The first part is that Sheikh Hasina has insulted and humiliated those who sacrificed themselves in the July Uprising. By making irrelevant, vulgar, and hateful remarks about the death of the martyrs, the fugitive Sheikh Hasina has disrespected the July Uprising.”
“Secondly, Sheikh Hasina, despite fleeing in the face of the mass uprising against corruption, terrorism, and inhumane methods, continues to speak in the same threatening tone against the July Uprising and all who took part in it. Sheikh Hasina has threatened to create instability in the country.”
The statement further accused Hasina of “continuing to inflict one blow after another on the wounds left in people’s minds over the July massacre”.
“The house on Road No 32 was vandalised in response to her violent behaviour,” the statement said.
It further asserted that the interim government was “on the highest alert” to safeguard the lives and property of the nation and that law-enforcing agencies were “making every effort to bring the situation under control”.
The chief advisor’s press wing said, “It is possible to avoid a recurrence of such incidents if Sheikh Hasina, a warranted accused in crimes against humanity, refrains from speaking.”
"The government hopes that India will not allow its territory to be used for activities that create instability in Bangladesh and will not give Sheikh Hasina the opportunity to speak. The interim government does not want such incidents to repeat in the future,” it added.
Stating that the trial of those involved in the July massacre is progressing “at full speed”, the statement said: "The interim government is committed to ensuring this trial and to giving appropriate punishment to the murderers. The government will look into what legal steps can be taken against those involved in provocative activities."
However, a comparison of the timelines shows that Hasina began her speech at 9pm Bangladesh time, while the attack on Road No. 32 had already begun an hour earlier, around 8pm on Wednesday.
[Compiled in English by Ruhshabah Tabassum Huda]
