Fresh tension grips Bangladesh as student protesters demand president’s resignation

The interim government was expected to hold a Cabinet meeting to discuss the issue on Thursday.

The student group, known as the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, set a two-day deadline for President Mohammed Shahabuddin to step down. Hundreds of protesters rallied in the capital, Dhaka, on Tuesday while hundreds of others attempted to storm the presidential palace, Bangabhaban.

Police and witnesses said security officials charged at protesters with batons and used stun grenades to disperse people late Tuesday. Media reports said at least two protesters were injured by bullets.

The new political turmoil began after Shahabuddin told a Bengali-language newspaper earlier this week that he had not seen Hasina’s resignation letter as she fled to India in August amid a student-led uprising. An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took power and formed a government after Hasina stepped down on August 5.

Shahabuddin said in his interview with the Manab Zamin daily that he only heard about Hasina’s resignation but had not seen the actual letter, a statement that infuriated the Yunus-led government and student activists, prompting them to call for his resignation.