Last update:Nov 01, 2024, 10:01 IST

Anti-Sheikh Hasina protesters were angered when the Jatiya Party announced it would hold a rally in Dhaka on Saturday.

Clashes broke out when protesters carrying the Chhatra Sramik Janata banner marched with a torchlight procession outside the Jatiya Party headquarters. (Screenshot/ANI)

Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s coalition, the Dhaka-based Jatiya Party, was vandalized and set on fire amid clashes on Thursday night. The office was partially damaged, witnesses said.

The Jatiya Party, founded by late President Hussain Muhammad Ershad, was part of the Awami League-led Grand Alliance and participated in the three previous general elections despite a boycott by the main party, the BNP.

Anti-Sheikh Hasina protesters were angered when the Jatiya Party announced it would hold a rally in Dhaka on Saturday. Clashes broke out when protesters carrying the Chhatra Sramik Janata banner marched with a torchlight procession outside the Jatiya Party headquarters in the Kakrail area, the heart of the capital Dhaka.

Firefighters arrived quickly and extinguished the fire. According to witnesses, a large group of protesters gathered outside the Jatiya Party office after protesters vandalized it, damaged the sign and defaced a photograph of party founder Ershad. Police and military personnel were deployed to the scene.

“We were passing by the Jatiya Party office in a torchlight procession when members of the Jatiya Party threw bricks at us from the roof,” said Shakiluzzaman, leader of Gono Audhikar Parishad, a political party involved in the movement against Sheikh Hasina. The Jatiya Party set fire to their own office and fled. “They acted as representatives of the fascist Awami League in the 2014, 2018 and 2024 elections,” he added.

“We, the students, workers and citizens, have declared that we will not allow the Jatiya Party to hold any demonstrations,” he continued.

The Jatiya Party has not yet commented, but is expected to issue a formal response later today. Two months ago, a student-led movement resulted in the overthrow of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after weeks of protests and clashes that left more than 600 dead. Hasina, 76, fled to India on August 5 and an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was subsequently formed.

(With contributions from the agency)