Ex-Bangladesh PM Hasina demands probe into protest ‘killings and vandalism’

Hasina’s statement comes hours after a court orders probe into her role in the death of a grocery shop owner during the protests.

Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for action against those involved in “killings and vandalism” in the country last month, her first comments since violent protests forced her to flee to India.

More than 300 people died in the demonstrations that began as student-led protests against quotas in government jobs spiralled into a larger movement seeking Hasina’s overthrow.

Hasina’s written statement, issued on X on Tuesday through her United States-based son, came hours after a court ordered a probe into her role in the death of a grocery shop owner during the protests.

Many people died “in the name of revolution” in July, Hasina, 76, said.

“I demand that those involved in these killings and vandalism be properly investigated and the culprits be identified and punished accordingly,” she said.

The deposed Bangladeshi leader also urged her supporters to appear in public in the capital Dhaka on Thursday to mark the anniversary of her father’s assassination.

“I appeal to you to observe the National Day of Mourning on August 15 with due respect and solemnity,” she said in the statement.

Thursday marks the anniversary of the 1975 assassination of her father, independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, during a military coup – a date her government had declared a national holiday.

Hasina asked supporters to “pray for the salvation of all souls by offering floral garlands and praying” at her childhood home in Dhaka. The landmark was until recently a museum to her father, but it was torched and vandalised by a mob hours after her fall.

The caretaker administration now running