Bangabandhu museum on Dhanmondi 32: Torching an integral part of country’s history

After Sheikh Hasina resigned amid nationwide protests on Monday, the mob decided to take their rage out by vandalising various structures.

Even the historic residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, an infrastructure that symbolised the country's independence struggle, on Road 32 in Dhanmondi, was not spared.

The mob set ablaze the residence, which was later turned into a museum.

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Hasina falls, flees

"When the news of Hasina's resignation circulated, police and officials guarding the residence quickly fled. Thousands of people broke into the house, took everything, and celebrated on the adjacent street," said an eyewitness.

"The fire service did not arrive to control the blaze, so the fire quickly spread to nearby buildings, causing severe damage," he added.

The modern extension of the museum complex, which housed a library, auditorium, and photo gallery, was also completely destroyed. An adjacent restaurant was burned as well.

When this correspondent got inside the historic building, he saw many burnt books lying on the floor, many of the furniture and household items were either stolen or torched. The doors and windows were damaged.

Yesterday, numerous people also visited the residence, took photos and painted protest graffiti on the wall.

Army personnel were seen at the spot trying to control the situation. They were also joined by students.

Md Abdullah Al Mamun, a student helping soldiers control the crowd, said, "We are ensuring no more vandalism occurs here or in nearby buildings. We will close the site after 5:00pm and will not allow any visitors."

"We have rescued many books from the library, and the Bangladesh Army has brought a truck to send the books to the public library," he added.

Students and troops blocked several attempts to steal or loot from the site. At 5:00pm, while controlling the crowd, some people were caught loading construction materials onto a truck from an under-construction building.

When visitors reported this, soldiers and students quickly intervened.

The looters, identifying themselves as "contractors," were detained and taken inside the camp.

A student said, "We are protecting the site now. We will not allow any more looting or vandalism."

PMO AND JS

Like on Monday, a huge number of people gathered in front of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) yesterday, but they could not enter as army personnel had taken complete control.

Soldiers guarded the main gate.

Samiul Ahsan, along with his wife Lutfa Sahana and their two children, came to the PMO. "I saw people enter the PMO yesterday, so I came, but I could not enter today [yesterday]," Samiul said.

Some people stood at the gate, asking the army personnel to take pictures. Various goods, including sofa sets, were seen lying scattered on the PMO lawn.

A similar crowd was spotted at the parliament building. Many people entered the premises by rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, and motorcycles via the VIP road to the Sangsad Bhaban from the side of Gono Bhaban.

However, the main parliament building was guarded by Army personnel who were not allowing anyone inside. People walked in the open courtyard outside the building and by the lake.

Parul Akhtar, who arrived by rickshaw with her two children, said, "Yesterday, I saw on TV people inside the parliament building without any fear or obstruction. That's why I came today."