On Monday, the crisis in Bangladesh was centered around Dhaka and the situation was rapidly deteriorating, with hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets from the capital’s outskirts. Heading towards Gonobobon, the official residence of the Prime MinisterEveryone is united on one demand: the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
With the crowd of protesters growing rapidly, officials predicted that just 45 minutes from Hasina’s home, the former Bangladeshi prime minister would have to make a difficult decision. Should she follow the advice of those close to her and refrain from using force on her people, or flee?
Hasina, who has been in power in Bangladesh since 2009, has finally decided to step down. But before this decision, she had to undergo many hours of persuasion, phone calls and meetings.
Growing crisis for Sheikh Hasina
This is the story of Sheikh Hasina’s final hours in Bangladesh, the dilemma, the circumstances and the final decision that resulted in her fleeing to India.
Sheikh Hasina held her position until the end in an effort to retain power through the use of force or other means, Dhaka-based newspaper Pratham Alo reported.
According to reports, he exerted heavy pressure on top officials of various law enforcement and defence forces for about an hour from 10:30 am on Monday before fleeing the country.
However, by that time, the streets of Dhaka leading to Gonobobon were already packed with perhaps the largest crowd ever seen in the country’s history.
Student leaders had vowed to storm Gonobobon the day before. At least 98 Bangladeshis were tragically killed on Sunday.
Sheikh Hasina urged security forces to use more force
For the past three weeks, Sheikh Hasina has been unable to suppress student-led protests and widespread public unrest despite using heavily armed forces and her party workers.
Citing various sources, Pratham Alo’s report details the last four hours of Sheikh Hasina before her resignation and eventual escape to India.
Realising the gravity of the situation, some Awami League leaders, including one of his top aides, tried to persuade him to hand over power to the Army on Sunday night, the report said.
However, at the time she was reluctant to accept the advice.
Instead, Hasina ordered a stricter curfew starting Monday that will see everything across Bangladesh shut down, including internet services.
It happened the day after Chaos had spread in Bangladesh and the security personnel were not taking any action against the protesters.
Despite attempts to enforce the curfew at dawn, protesters began violating it at various places by 9 a.m. An hour later, millions of people had taken to the streets and lanes of Dhaka.
High-level sources in various agencies told Pratham Alo that at around 10.30am, the chiefs of the three armed forces, Army, Navy and Air Force, and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) were summoned to Gonobobon, the prime minister’s residence.
Sheikh Hasina expressed disappointment at the security forces’ inability to control the situation and questioned why they were not strict with protesters who were climbing on and painting law enforcement and military vehicles.
He also said that he had trusted these officers and appointed them to top positions.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) then told her that the situation had deteriorated so much that it was not possible for the police to maintain such a tough stance for long. The report said that top officials tried to explain that the situation could not be controlled by force alone, but Sheikh Hasina was not ready to accept it.
Sister and son persuaded Hasina over phone to leave Bangladesh
Seeing that they could not make Hasina understand the gravity of the situation, some officials met her younger sister Rehana in a separate room.
He urged Rehana to convey the seriousness of the situation to Haseena, following which Rehana spoke to her elder sister.
Sheikh Hasina still remains adamant and unsatisfied.
After this, a senior official also spoke to Hasina’s son Sajid Wajed Joy, who lives abroad but is an official advisor to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
According to the report, Joy then spoke to her mother Haseena, following which she agreed to resign.
Hasina was told there was no time to record a speech to the nation
Meanwhile, before boarding the plane to leave the country, Hasina also expressed her desire to record a farewell speech to be broadcast to the nation. But, that did not happen.
By that time, intelligence reports revealed that a large number of students from the areas of Shahbag and Uttara were marching towards Gonobhubon. It was estimated that the flood of people could reach Gonobhubon within 45 minutes. Given the urgency of the moment, Sheikh Hasina did not have time to record her speech.
Instead, the army gave them 45 minutes to prepare for departure.
Sheikh Hasina arrived at the helipad of Tejgaon Air Base adjacent to her official residence with her younger sister Rehana. Some of her luggage was loaded onto the plane.
Sheikh Hasina then reached Rashtrapati Bhavan, Bongobhobon, where she formally submitted her resignation, ending her 15-year-long rule in Bangladesh.
According to reports, the helicopter from Dhaka carrying Hasina and her sister landed at a Border Security Force (BSF) helipad in the northeastern state of Agartala shortly after entering Indian airspace.
Later, Sheikh Hasina Arrived at Hindon Air Base of Indian Air Force The accident took place at 5.36 pm Indian time in Ghaziabad near New Delhi. He was welcomed by Indian officials, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. And it is believed that she may continue her journey from Delhi to London.
However, Sheikh Hasina’s departure is not only the end of an era but the beginning of an uncertain but hopeful chapter for Bangladesh, as this void has now opened up many possibilities. Sheikh Hasina is the first top leader to flee Bangladesh and her last hours in Dhaka were as dramatic as her rise to power.