Sheikh Hasina demands probe into terror acts in the name of agitation

Dhaka/New Delhi: Bangladesh's deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday demanded "justice", saying those involved in recent "terror acts", killings and vandalism must be investigated, identified and punished.

In her first public statement after her ouster on August 5, 76-year-old Hasina said several lives have been lost in violence in the name of agitation since July.

"I express grief at the deaths of students, teachers, police personnel, pregnant women, journalists, cultural activists, working people, leaders and workers of the Awami League and its allied organisations, pedestrians and employees of several establishments," Hasina, who is currently in New Delhi, said in a statement in Bengali posted by her US-based son Sajeeb Wazed on his X handle.

"I sympathise with those like me who continue to live with the pain of losing near and dear ones. I demand a proper investigation to identify those involved in these killings and terror acts and appropriate punishment for them," Hasina said, recalling the brutal assassination of her family members on August 15, 1975.

English translation of my mother's statement:

Dear Bangladesh,

As-salamu alaykum.

Brothers and sisters, on August 15, 1975, the Father of the Nation and the then President of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was brutally assassinated. I pay my deepest respects to…

— Sajeeb Wazed (@sajeebwazed) August 13, 2024