As the evening progressed, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s house at Dhanmondi 32 in Dhaka took on a somber atmosphere on Thursday.
The once-familiar residence, usually guarded and vibrant, now feels eerily unrecognizable.
Gone are the colorful lights and flowers, and the mausoleum of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is notably devoid of floral tributes.
Even last year, August 15, or the National Mourning Day, was marked with various arrangements surrounding the house.
For years, vendors were barred from the Dhanmondi 32 area on August 15. "Famous figures and MPs used to visit the house, and police would secure the area. It was always adorned with flowers... but today (Thursday) no one is here to even turn on the lights of the burnt house.”
These were the words of Nayan, a fuchka and chotpoti vendor who has been selling at the Dhanmondi 32 area for the past two decades.
Immediately after the resignation of prime minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, the house was vandalized, looted and burnt down.
Most of the items stored in the wake of the August 15, 1975 incident have been looted.
Bangabandhu's statue was also vandalized. Remnants of Bangabandhu's portrait, banners, and broken statues were seen lying inside and outside the house.
The students surrounded the house around 7pm on Wednesday to avoid anarchy and unstable situation after the attack on Rokeya Prachi, one of the leaders of Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote, centering the candle lighting on August 15.
The students also prevented anyone affiliated with the Awami League from entering the house to pay respects to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
They claimed they were protecting the area to prevent the Awami League from creating any chaos under the guise of paying tribute.
There are also reports that students harassed, assaulted, and even tied up people in the vicinity.
According to witnesses, a burqa-clad woman who identified herself as a journalist was barred from entering the house. Her documents were later checked on a mobile phone, revealing her political affiliations.
As a result, journalists and others were banned from taking photographs and videos near the Dhanmondi 32 area. Although the ban was eventually lifted, students were still seen inspecting passersby’s mobile phones for any suspicious content.
Arab, a class IX student of New Model School and College, said: "We heard that there might be chaos in Dhanmondi on August 15 under the guise of mourning. Our concerns grew after the attack on Rokeya Prachi on Wednesday.
“So, we decided to guard the area throughout the night. We have no issues with people mourning, but we don’t want any anarchy in the name of mourning,” he said.
At the weeklong “Resistance Week” program at Shahbagh, Sarjis Alam, one of the coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said that the miscreants who were collaborators of autocracy, including Chhatra League and Jubo League, are conspiring to create chaos by staging a new mass uprising.
“This will never be allowed to happen. The student community is in the field and will remain.”
32 held on suspicion of political links
From Thursday morning to evening, 21 suspects were detained from the area around Dhanmondi Road 32 in the capital and handed over to Dhanmondi police station.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) Emran Hossain confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune around 8pm on Thursday.
"We had 21 people sent from the Dhanmondi 32 area. They were detained on suspicion of political affiliation. Some of them were injured. They were later released as we did not find anything suspicious,” the OC added.
No public holiday on August 15
The interim government has cancelled the public holiday for National Mourning Day on August 15. The decision was taken on Monday during a meeting of the Council of Advisers, presided over by Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus.
Assasination of Bangabandhu
On August 15, 1975, Bangabandhu and most of his family were brutally gunned down by disgruntled members of the army.
The killers not only murdered Bangabandhu in those fateful predawn hours, but also his wife, Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatun Nesha Mujib; his eldest son, Sheikh Kamal; his second son, Sheikh Jamal; his daughters-in-law, Sultana Kamal and Parveen Jamal Rosy; his youngest son, ten-year-old Sheikh Russell; his younger brother, Sheikh Abu Nasser; his nephew, Sheikh Fazlul Haq Moni, along with his pregnant wife, Begum Arju Moni; his brother-in-law, Abdur Rab Serniabat, along with Serniabat’s daughter Baby, son Arif Serniabat, grandson Sukanta Abdullah Babu, and nephew Shaheed Serniabat; and Abdul Naeem Khan Rintu, a cousin of Amir Hossain Amu.
Bangabandhu's chief security officer, Colonel Jamil Uddin Ahmad, and Siddikur Rahman, a Special Branch officer on duty at Bangabandhu’s residence, were also killed.
Bangabandhu’s two daughters, Sheikh Hasina, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, and Sheikh Rehana, survived as they were in Germany at the time.
