Watch: Protesters storm PM's palace after Sheikh Hasina flees country
Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left Bangladesh on Monday amid widening unrest in the country. After the news of her departure broke out, thousands of protestors stormed the Prime Minister's official residence in Dhaka and reportedly vandalised the properties.
The footage shows protestors entering the bedroom and sleeping on the bed, stealing furniture and food from the refrigerators. Meanwhile, protestors were seen walking around the premises of the building as the Bangladesh Army Chief called for protestors to refrain from using violence and help him restore peace by appointing an interim government.
Protests have continued even after the Supreme Court last month ruled that the quota system — which set aside up to 30% of government jobs for family members of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence against Pakistan — must be drastically cut. The government attempted to quell the demonstrations with force, leaving nearly 300 people dead since mid-July.
At least 95 people, including at least 14 police officers, died in clashes in the capital on Sunday, according to the country's leading Bengali-language daily newspaper, Prothom Alo. Hundreds more were injured. At least 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks. The unrest has also resulted in the closure of schools and universities across the country, and authorities at one point imposed a shoot-on-sight curfew.
Authorities also shut off mobile internet on Sunday in an attempt to quell the unrest, and broadband internet was cut briefly Monday morning. It was the second internet blackout in the country since July, but services were restored later Monday.