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Top officials in Bangladesh told Sheikh Hasina during the chaotic final hours on Monday that the end of her leadership was near and there wasn’t enough time to record a farewell speech as an angry mob prepared to storm her residence in capital Dhaka.
Weeks of student-led anti-quota protests in Bangladesh brought an end to Ms Hasina’s administration, forcing the prime minister to resign and flee the country.
Tens of thousands of locals have been protesting against a quota system for government jobs in the streets of Bangladesh, especially in Dhaka, where students defied military curfews and called for Ms Hasina’s resignation.
Nearly 400 people died in Bangladesh since mid-July when peaceful protests led by students spiralled into violence after police and armed forces cracked down on protesters, including implementing shoot-at-sight orders. At least 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks.
Sequence of events that led to Hasina fleeing Bangladesh:
Saturday, 3 August: Student protest organisers called for Ms Hasina’s resignation in Dhaka, chanting anti-government slogans in rallies. Thousands of people protested peacefully in Bangladesh’s capital to demand justice for more than 200 students and others killed last month, but violence was reported at similar events elsewhere in the country.
Sunday, 4 August: Renewed anti-government protests across the country left nearly 100 people dead, including at least 14 police officers. Protesters called for a new interim government and ouster of Ms Hasina after the military announced that a new curfew was in effect from Sunday evening for an indefinite period, including in Dhaka, and other divisional and district headquarters. Officials announced shutting down of courts, railways, and other public spaces until further notice amid rising mutiny.
Monday, 5 August, 9am: Despite nationwide curfew and internet shutdown in several places, protesters in several cities defied official orders and joined a “March to Dhaka” rally called by the Anti-Discrimination students’ movement which has been spearheading the demonstrations. Pleas by the Bangladesh Army to comply with curfew orders were rejected.
10am: Clashes between protesters and police forces reported across Bangladesh in the non-cooperation movement launched by groups who defied a military curfew. At least six people were killed during clashes between police and protesters in Jatrabari and Dhaka Medical College areas, reported Bangladeshi daily The Daily Star. Key organisers called for sit-in protests till the Hasina government fell.
1pm: At Ganabhaban (house of the people), the prime minister’s residence, Ms Hasina was briefed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) that the situation had spiralled out of control and could not be contained by using force, reported Prothom Alo, a Bengali-language daily in Bangladesh.
1.30pm: Negotiations failed with Ms Hasina, prompting IGP officials to approach her sister Sheikh Rehana to help convince her to leave the worsening situation in Bangladesh as protesters marched to her residence. When Ms Rehana’s intervention did not succeed, top officials called Ms Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy who was abroad but convinced her to resign and leave Bangladesh. Ms Hasina requested that she be allowed to record a departing speech for her country but police officials warned her she did not even have 45 minutes to spare as a mob of tens of thousands was quickly moving towards her residence, according to intelligence reports.
Around 1.45pm: Ms Hasina and her sister Ms Rehana were given 45 minutes to head to the helipad of the old airport in Tejgaon, reported Prothom Alo. She headed to Bangabhan, the presidential office and residence for resignation formalities. Their luggage was loaded in the meantime.
2.30pm: The sisters boarded a Bangladesh Air Force helicopter and headed to India, where they requested safe asylum for a brief period. Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar confirmed Ms Hasina had requested for “approval to come to India for the moment at a very short notice”.
3pm: Photos showed hundreds of thousands of angry protesters storming Ms Hasina’s residence and ransacking her personal belongings. Other buildings associated with her party and family were also damaged. Crowds also vandalised Ms Hasina’s family’s ancestral home-turned-museum where her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – the country’s first president and independence leader – was assassinated. They torched major offices of the ruling party and the country’s two leading, pro-government TV stations, both of which were forced to go off air.
3.30pm: Unverified visuals of Ms Hasina boarding a state helicopter emerged on social media, prompting speculations of her next move as Indian news channels report she is headed to India’s eastern state of Agartala.
4pm: Bangladesh army chief Waker-uz-Zaman delivered a national address and confirmed Ms Hasina’s resignation. The top official said he was temporarily taking control of the country as soldiers tried to stem the growing unrest. Mohammed Shahabuddin, the country’s figurehead president, announced late Monday after meeting with Waker-uz-Zamam and opposition politicians that parliament would be dissolved and a national government would be formed as soon as possible, leading to fresh elections.
4.15pm: Flight monitoring website FlightRadar24 showed a Bangladesh Air Force C-130J Hercules military plane heading deep inside India and towards New Delhi. The flight, registered with the Bangladesh Air Force, with callsign “AJAX1431” became the world’s most tracked flight on Monday, with more than 29,000 users tracking it.
The Indian Air Force fighter jets provided cover to the C-130 aircraft carrying Ms Hasina, reported Indian national daily The Times of India.
5.15pm: Hasina landed at the Indian Air Force base of Hindon near New Delhi, confirming her exit from Bangladesh for unconfirmed duration. Indian news reports suggested that Ms Hasina was seeking political asylum in the UK and will be waiting in India till clearance from Britain.
7.30pm: India’s national security advisor Ajit Doval met Ms Hasina at the Hindon Air Base where he discussed the security situation in Dhaka with her. Indian Air Force and other security agencies offered security to her and she was moved to a safe location, reported Indian news agency ANI.
Tuesday, 6 August, 9am: The C-130J aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force took off from the Hindon air base and headed back to Bangladesh. Media reports confirmed that Ms Hasina and her entourage were not aboard the military plane that went back to Dhaka and that she would continue to be in India till her next step of asylum. The back channel negotiations for asylum in the UK continued as Ms Rehana holds a UK citizenship.
Ms Hasina is expected to stay in India for a night or two till her approval for asylum from the UK comes through, an official told the Indian daily The Hindu.
2.30pm: Mr Jaishankar briefed the Indian parliament after speaking with all-party leaders in New Delhi. “After a meeting with leaders of the security establishment, prime minister Sheikh Hasina apparently made the decision to resign. She requested approval to come for the moment to India at a very short notice. India received a request for flight clearance from the Bangladesh authorities and reached Delhi in the evening,” he said.
