Around 500 inmates escaped from Sherpur District Jail in Bangladesh after miscreants stormed the facility on Monday, as the anti-government protests in the capital Dhaka concluded with the ouster of long-time leader Sheikh Hasina.
The attackers, armed with sticks and local weapons, breached the jail gate and set fire to the building between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., United News of Bangladesh (UNB) reported. During the chaos, they also torched the Sadar Police Station and vandalised various district offices, including the district election office and Sonali Bank.
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The Bangladeshi outlet said that authorities have suspended 77 officials, including the jail superintendent and prison guards. The attack occurred amid curfew, and the Deputy Commissioner of Sherpur, Abdullah Al Khairun, reported that multiple establishments in the district were set ablaze and damaged.
On Tuesday, Bangladesh descended into chaos as Hasina fled the country in a military aircraft while the army stepped in to fill the power vacuum after days of anti-government protests that have killed more than 300 people. After protestors took to the streets in Dhaka, Bangladesh Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman announced that the 76-year-old prime minister had resigned.
The coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement have announced that Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus will be the chief adviser to the interim government in Bangladesh. In a video posted on social media early Tuesday morning, Nahid Islam, one of the key coordinators of the movement, said that Prof Yunus has agreed to take on this crucial responsibility at the call of the student community to save the country, the Daily Star newspaper reported.
This development came after President Mohammed Shahabuddin said an interim government would be formed after dissolving the parliament as soon as possible. In a televised address to the nation late Monday night, the president also ordered the release of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who is under house arrest after being convicted in several cases.
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