Bangladesh PM Hasina taken by military to India? Speculations swirl as news of resignation comes in

Dhaka: Amid raging unrest in Bangladesh, the country's Prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on August 5 and left (reportedly) for India in a military plane, it has been reported.

In a subsequent address, the country's military chief Waker Uz Zaman said that the armed forces would help form an interim government. He also confirmed on television the news on Hasina's resignation.

All injustices meted out to the people will be accounted for and redressed, he added.


Various reports by the country's local media showed protesters storming the leader's official residence.

Earlier, a senior advisor to the PM had told news agency AFP that the resignation of the embattled leader was a "possibility".

The statement came in response to a question as to whether she would quit.

"She and her sister have left Ganabhaban (the premier's official residence) for a safer place," the agency reported citing a source. "She wanted to record a speech. But she could not get an opportunity to do that."

Local media reported that she was taken to India in a military helicopter. It was also subsequently reported that she has resigned.

The son of PM Hasina had urged the country's security forces to block any takeover from her rule as hundreds of thousands of protesters want her to go.

"Your duty is to keep our people safe and our country safe and to uphold the constitution," AFP reported quoting a Facebook post by US-based Sajeeb Wazed Joy. "It means don't allow any unelected government to come in power for one minute, it is your duty."

Demonstrations that started in July against job quotas have escalated into some of the worst unrest of Hasina's 15-year rule, triggering calls for the 76-year-old to resign.

At least 101 people, including 14 policemen, were killed in clashes on Sunday, leading newspaper Prothom Alo reported.

The violence forced authorities to cut off mobile internet and enforce a nationwide curfew for an indefinite period.