Bangladesh top updates: 135 killed in violence, Opposition leader Khaleda Zia to be freed from jail

The fall of Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government in Bangladesh on Monday led to scenes of jubilation among protestors, even as the country continued to witness widespread violence. Army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman said that the country would have a new interim government soon, and urged protestors to remain peaceful, Reuters reported.

The student-led protests initially erupted last month against a controversial quota scheme for government jobs, and then evolved into a broader agitation against Hasina’s administration.

Here are some of the top developments from Bangladesh.

• At least 135 persons died in Bangladesh on Monday in mob violence, police firings and arson, before and after Sheikh Hasina resigned as the prime minister and left the country, reported Dhaka Tribune. On Sunday, at least 93 persons were killed and over 1,000 injured in different parts of the country, reported The Daily Star.
• Hours after Hasina left Bangladesh and landed in India with her sister, Bangladesh’s President Mohammed Shahabuddin ordered the release of jailed former prime minister and key Opposition leader Khaleda Zia, reported Al Jazeera. She is the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Zia has been in jail since 2018 after her conviction in a corruption case.A press statement from the president’s office said that the decision to release the former prime minister was taken during a meeting led by Shahabuddin. The country’s Army chief General...

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