Amid Hasina return talk, nearly 50 cocktail blasts and 32 vehicles torched across Bangladesh; 88 arrested
Amid activity surrounding Sheikh Hasina's possible return to the country, nearly 50 cocktail explosions and arson attacks on 32 vehicles have taken place at various locations across the country since last Saturday. According to Bangladesh Police Headquarters, the incidents occurred in the Dhaka metropolitan area and other parts of the country.
Police Headquarters AIG (Media) Kamrum Munira told BBC Bangla that at least 88 people have been arrested so far in connection with the incidents. Police have also found links between the incidents and the banned-activities Awami League, she said.
The government views the cocktail explosions and vehicle arson attacks in various places over the past few days as planned sabotage by the Awami League, whose activities are banned. In recent days, Awami League leaders and activists have also been seen blocking roads and protesting in Gopalganj, Madaripur and other places, as well as holding flash processions at various locations.
But when asked about links between the incidents, Hasina's return and the Awami League, the party's joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, who is in hiding, answered tactfully. He told BBC Bangla: "I have not heard any cocktail sound. No matter how much they try to blame the Awami League, has the people's love for the Awami League decreased?"
A day or two after those incidents began, an application was sent on Monday to the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi seeking necessary steps for a new passport and national identity card (NID) for Sheikh Hasina. A London-based law firm sent the letter or application by email.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, however, has questioned how authentic that letter or application is. He said the government is verifying its authenticity. The BNP government took a cautious position from the start on the letter from Hasina's lawyers to the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi regarding her passport and NID.
Foreign State Minister Humayun Kabir, meanwhile, described Sheikh Hasina as a "terrorist" and said she will not be given a passport or NID from Bangladesh. Government ministers and advisers also say Hasina will not be brought back through an ordinary passport or travel pass, but under the India-Bangladesh extradition treaty.
On Tuesday, International Crimes Tribunal chief prosecutor Aminul Islam said at a briefing that Hasina did not appeal within the prescribed 30 days after the death sentence was delivered. Therefore she has no legal opportunity to file an appeal in future. For that reason, if she returns to the country, her death sentence can be executed without an appeal hearing, he said.
The International Crimes Tribunal has sentenced Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan of her government to death in a case over crimes against humanity during the July-August uprising of 2024. A few months after the Awami League government led by Hasina was ousted in August 2024, the then interim government banned the party's activities.
Hasina has been staying in India for more than two years since being ousted in a mass uprising. Since the BNP formed a government through elections in Bangladesh, she has hinted several times that she will return in December. In a written interview with an international media outlet last July, she said she would return to Bangladesh in December. That raised the question of whether she would return with a death sentence hanging over her.
Awami League spokesperson Mohammad Ali Arafat told BBC Bangla that it had long been said Hasina would be tried through due process if she returned. But now she wants to return with a death sentence over her, yet the government is not cooperating, he said.
Leaders of the ruling BNP, however, say they are under no pressure over the matter. The party's acting secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told BBC Bangla that the banned-activities Awami League and Hasina's return announcement is a drama. He said: "This is theatrics; the Awami League is trying to deceive the people and fish in troubled waters." Rizvi also said the issue has not put the BNP under pressure; rather, the BNP government is being more cautious, and the government will take action if they carry out illegal activities.
Political analysts believe that through Hasina's return announcement and the activity around it, the Awami League wants on one hand to keep its workers and supporters energised, and on the other to put the government under some pressure. Analyst Mohiuddin Ahmad told BBC Bangla that alongside keeping the government under pressure, the Awami League wants to keep its workers and supporters active, which is why this activity is being seen.
On Monday, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman met party leaders, activists and MPs at the Jatiya Sangsad. Party leaders and activists were instructed to remain alert there. The party also announced it would stay on the streets. Some BNP policymakers and party members believe Hasina will not actually return, but has adopted a strategy to pressure the government. Another section of the party, however, has questioned how necessary it was to give so much importance to the government reaction after the letter from Hasina's lawyers reached the Delhi High Commission on Monday.
