Thousands of protestors in Bangladesh on Monday looted and vandalised Sheikh Hasina's official residence in the capital Dhaka, smashed a statue of her father Mujibur Rahman with hammers and set her party's offices on fire as they celebrated her departure as prime minister.
Hasina, 76, resigned and left Bangladesh amid mass protests against her government over a controversial quota system that reserved 30% of government jobs for the families of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence against Pakistan in 1971.
Jubilant crowds took to the streets across the country to celebrate their victory after Army chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman announced Hasina's resignation. She had been ruling the strategically located South Asian nation since 2009.
Thousands of protesters defied a military curfew and stormed her official residence 'Ganabhaban' in the capital Dhaka. However, she was not at her residence.
Video footage showed protesters vandalising and looting Hasina's official residence. They were seen celebrating on the Ganabhaban premises waving their hands in the air. Many of them were seen walking away with sofas and even chairs.
Footage on social media showed protesters climbing a statue of Hasina's father in Ganabhaban and smashing it with hammers.
A man held aloft his child, hundreds broke in to dance to the beating of drums, and one protester proudly proclaimed to the media that he had taken a red lipstick. “I will keep it as a memento of our struggle -- to remember we broke free from a dictator. She used to wear this lipstick,” he said.
Another young man carrying a planter said, “This is freedom. I can't put this feeling into words.”
The Bangladesh flag draped around his neck, a protester said he was 35 years old and had not been able to cast his vote for three elections.
A young woman said she was very happy to see this freedom. "This celebration is for everybody," she added.
An unruly mob vandalised the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in the city's Dhanmondi area. Four Hindu temples suffered "minor" damages across the country, eyewitnesses and a community leader said.
The Bangabandhu memorial museum -- dedicated to Mujibur Rahman who was assassinated along with his wife and their three sons while serving as president in 1975 -- was also vandalised. Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana had survived the purge as they were abroad. Hasina then spent six years in exile in India.
The home of Dr Wajed Miah, Hasina's husband, was not spared either in the vortex of violence on Monday, local reports said.
The Awami League office in the capital was also set on fire. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan's house was ransacked. And a Prothom Alo reporter said screams and loud noises could be heard when several people entered the chief justice's residence. The crowd also entered the Parliament building. People were seen taking things from inside the parliament building.
A large number of protesters broke through the main gate of the police headquarters and ransacked the building.
The violence was not restricted to Dhaka. In the eastern city of Sylhet, offices of the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police were reportedly set on fire, while the homes of several councillors were attacked, BBC reported.
At least eight people were burned to death and 84 others suffered injuries after unidentified arsonists torched a residential hotel owned by Shahin Chakladar, general secretary of Jashore district Awami League, in Jashore, the Daily Star newspaper reported.
One person was killed and nearly 200 others hospitalised as miscreants attacked different government establishments soon after Hasina's resignation, it said.
The headquarters of Chattagram Metropolitan police and Chattogram Circuit House were also attacked, it added, citing its local staff correspondent.
BNP chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, and acting chairman of the party Tariq Rahman urged people to remain calm, the party's press wing official Shamsuddin Didar said in a press release.
Earlier in the day, at least six people were killed in a fresh round of violence.
The day began with an eerie calm, but it turned violent after supporters of the ruling Awami League descended on the streets to subdue anti-government protests who defied curfew to gather for the "Long March to Dhaka".
Over 300 people have been killed in the protests against the government within a fortnight.
