Students were seen managing traffic as volunteers for the second day in a row on Wednesday (August 7, 2024) in Bangladesh, as a senior police official urged all police personnel to gradually return to their duties to maintain law and order.
Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on Monday (August 5, 2024), reports indicated a state of chaos in Bangladesh, with police officers failing to fulfill their responsibilities in maintaining law and order and managing traffic.
Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG) A. K. M. Shahidur Rahman, who was appointed as the focal person for handling the crisis within the Bangladesh Police on Tuesday (August 6, 2024), emphasized the importance of all police officers resuming their duties gradually to ensure public safety and law enforcement.
According to reports from the Dhaka Tribune newspaper, students, including members of Bangladesh Scouts, were observed directing traffic at various locations.
Mr. Rahman emphasized the vital role of the police in serving the public and maintaining security. He urged police officers to ignore rumors and return to their duties in a phased manner to ensure the proper implementation of security measures.
Reports of attacks on police stations and facilities across the country on Tuesday (August 6, 2024) resulted in numerous police casualties, leading to an unprecedented situation, as reported by the newspaper.
On Wednesday (August 7, 2024), the top positions of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) were reconstituted. AKM Shahidur Rahman was appointed as the Director General of RAB, while Md Mainul Hasan replaced Habibur Rahman as the commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, according to news portal Prothom Alo.
The reshuffle occurred shortly after President Mohammed Shahabuddin appointed Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus as the head of an interim government on Tuesday (August 6, 2024) night.
Attorney General Advocate Abu Mohammad Amin Uddin, who assumed office in October 2020, tendered his resignation on Wednesday (August 7, 2024).
Amid incidents of arson attacks on factories over the past two days, businesses demanded the immediate restoration of law and order on Wednesday (August 7, 2024) to ensure the safety of their production facilities.
According to the Daily Star newspaper, many factories, particularly garment units, opened on Wednesday, but several struggled to operate efficiently due to concerns of unrest and vandalism, as highlighted during a press conference by the International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICC-B).
On the second day after offices reopened, unrest erupted at Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday (August 7, 2024), leading to the resignation of six top officials, including Deputy Governor Kazi Sayedur Rahman, as reported by the Dhaka Tribune.
More than a hundred officials of Bangladesh Bank reportedly stormed the bank governor’s office, resulting in several deputy governors leaving the office amidst accusations of aiding bank looters.
The death toll of supporters of Hasina’s Awami League party reached 469 across the country by Tuesday (August 6, 2024), with the bodies of 29 individuals recovered that day alone since the protests began in July over a government job quota system.
Reports also highlighted increasing cases of violence against minorities on Tuesday (August 6, 2024), including the extensive vandalism and destruction at the residence of popular folk band Joler Gaan’s frontman Rahul Ananda on Monday (August 7, 2024), prompting the singer and his family to seek refuge at a undisclosed location.
Quoting Saiful Islam Jarnal, one of Joler Gaan’s founding members, the Daily Star described how the mob broke into the house, looted furniture, mirrors, valuables, and set the house on fire along with over 3,000 musical instruments designed and crafted by Rahul Anand over the years.
