Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country after the student strike turned into a popular movement. She escaped with her sister Sheikh Rihana in an Air Force helicopter shortly before the agitators stormed the official residence Gana Bhavan and landed at the Ghaziabad Hindon Air Base near Delhi on Monday evening. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval received them. It is suggested that Hasina, who sought political shelter in Britain, will soon go to London.

Addressing the nation, Bangladesh Army Chief General Wakhirusaman announced that he was taking over the administration and would form an interim government in consultation with the President. The army chief’s announcement came after discussions with opposition party leaders.

The ‘March to Dhaka’ led by the ‘Anti-Discrimination Student Movement’ on Monday, demanding justice for those killed in recent violence related to the Prime Minister’s resignation and reservation reform protests, turned into a massive riot. The government had made massive security preparations to face the march and cut off mobile internet. An indefinite curfew was also announced.

Thousands of students gathered at Dhaka Central Shaheed Minar at ten in the morning and started the march. The police confronted them with grenades and teargas shells. Around 12.30 pm, the protesters blocked the main road. After the police threw a grenade, the protestors entered the intersections. Three people were killed in the firing in Jatrabari. The number of people killed in the agitation on Sunday and Monday exceeded 100.

Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff General Wakhirusaman held a meeting with representatives of various political parties at the army headquarters. Sheikh Hasina and her sister left the country in an Air Force helicopter around 2.30 pm while the agitation continued. Later, the agitators entered Gana Bhavan and looted the furniture. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan broke into Kamal’s residence and set it on fire.

The Chief Justice’s residence and the Parliament building were raided and looted. Awami League’s Dhaka district office and the Sheikh Mujiburhman Memorial Museum were also set on fire. The operation of Shahjalal International Airport was suspended for six hours. The army chief said that he will hold discussions with the student representatives.

The riots were a continuation of protests demanding an end to the controversial quota system that reserved 30 percent of government jobs for relatives of veterans of Bangladesh’s 1971 independence struggle. Although the Supreme Court intervened and canceled the reservation quota, the protesters refused Sheikh Hasina’s invitation for further discussion and came together for the government’s resignation.