CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ kochi l tuesday l august 06, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION How Sheikh Hasina fled the Ganabhaban Ex-PM moved to safe house in Delhi-NCR Indian cultural centre, four temples attacked Train, air services to Dhaka suspended According to AFP’s Bangladesh bureau chief Shafqul Alam, Hasina wanted to record an address to the nation but her security team did not give time. She was rushed to the Old Tejgaon airport to fly out Sheikh Hasina was moved to a safe location within the DelhiNCR region, sources said. She wanted to fly to London, but her demand not to be tried in the UK for alleged rights violations, was not accepted Mob vandalised the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre located in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area on Monday. Four Hindu temples were also targeted. The temples suffered minor damage, a community leader said Indian Railways suspended all train services, including freight operations, between India and Bangladesh indefinitely. Air India and IndiGo cancelled scheduled flights to and from Dhaka with immediate effect timeline 10-11 am: Protests begin in various parts of Dhaka 2 pm: Mobile internet restored 2.30 pm: A military chopper with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina takes off 3-3.30 pm: Protesters storm Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s official residence flees to india people’s power purges hasina Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi Bangladesh’s longest-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday resigned and fled the country amid violent protests against her government, bringing an end to her 15-year rule. The move came after around 300 people were killed in the past two weeks during clashes between protesters and security forces. Bangladesh Ar my Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman said the Army has taken over and an interim government would be formed. According to sources, Sheikh Hasina, 76, left Dhaka on Monday afternoon on a chopper and reached Tripura’s capital Agartala. From there, an Indian Air Force aircraft took her to the Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad on the outskirts of Delhi. From Delhi, Hasina plans to reach Belarus or Finland on a chartered flight, it is learnt. However, she will stay back in Delhi for a day or two. Hasina is said to have made huge investments in Belarus. Soon after she landed in Hindon on Monday National Secu, rity Advisor Ajit Doval visited Hasina. Later, Doval attended a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him about the unfolding situation. The meeting was also attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Earlier in the day, unruly mobs in Bangladesh went on a rampage after news spread that Hasina resigned. Her official residence Ganabhaban, Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the offices of some media outlets were I’m taking all responsibility (of the country). Please cooperate — Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman ransacked and looted. Even the police headquarters was not spared as violent mobs burned down the building, forcing the Police Commissioner to escape on a helicopter. In view of the volatile situation, India has issued an advisory for its nationals in Bangladesh and asked them to exercise caution. Meanwhile, the BSF has beefed up patrolling around the India-Bangladesh border. According to some political observers in Dhaka, the dramatic way with which the protests — which began as an agitation against a job quota scheme but quickly morphed into a mass movement demanding Hasina’s ouster — shows the involvement of a hand, probably the US. Hasina’s growing proximity to China may not have gone down well with the US, they argue. Meanwhile, reports say that some senior officials, including judges, have taken refuge in the Indian High Commission P9 in Dhaka. The interim govt, with leaders from all political parties barring Awami League, will run the country for now – under army’s supervision Professor Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah Khaleda Zia released Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin ordered the release of opposition leader and former PM Khaleda Zia from jail Ambulances taking unidentified bodies and body parts to the mass burial ground at Puthumala in Wayanad on Monday | T P Sooraj Over 800 people in 8 relief camps; rehabilitation next major challenge A r u n M @ Chooralmala (Wayanad) With the search operations in Chooralmala and Mundakkai villages in the final phase, rehabilitation of those affected by the catastrophic landslides is the major challenge ahead for the authorities. Currently 889 people , — from 274 families — who were rescued or evacuated from the disaster-stricken areas are housed in eight relief camps in Meppadi. Though the state government has announced plans to establish a township in a secure area for those affected, identifying suitable land for the purpose could well prove to be a daunting task. Meanwhile, even a week after the tragedy confusion prevails , on the exact number of deceased, though official records put the toll at 226. Around 200 people are still missing. Also, the exact loss and extent of the disaster are yet to be estimated. The search teams recovered six more bodies from the Vellarmala village office area and near the Punn ap u z h a r ive r i n Chooralmala. On Monday, more unidentified bodies and body parts were buried at the mass burial site at a 64-cent land in Puthumala, following prayers of all religions. As many as 30 unclaimed bodies and 154 body parts were buried on the day. Each body and body part was buried in separate pits, with DNA identification numbers marked on top of the graves. Finance Minister K N Balagopal, who visited Chooralmala, told reporters that the state government will implement a comprehensive package to rehabilitate the victims. “The necessary land, housing and infrastructure for rehabilitation will be provided as soon as possible. It’s heartening to see substantial aid pouring in from across the country,” he said. The government has entrusted land revenue joint commissioner and former Wayanad district collector A Geetha with the task of finding suitable land for rehabilitating the survivors. Many organisations and individuals have also expressed willingness to help. However, several residents have expressed concerns over shifting to a new place.  ● More on P5 search continues 30 unclaimed bodies and 154 body parts buried at Puthumala on Monday 6 more bodies recovered from Chooralmala area A total of 226 bodies recovered -150 from Wayanad and 76 from Malappuram dists Intense search to be carried out from Soochipara to Pothukal on the banks of Chaliyar and up to Nilambur to trace those missing 4 youths test +ve for rare amoebic infection E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @T’Puram Four youths from Nellimoodu in Thiruvananthapuram have been confirmed positive for amoebic meningoencephalitis. It’s for the first time in the state that the infection is confirmed in adults. One among them, 28-year-old P S Akhil from Poothamkode, had died of the infection on July 23. The other three are undergoing treatment in Thiruvananthapuram medical college hospital. Meanwhile, another youth from the same locality was admitted to the MCH on Monday with similar symptoms, high fever and headache. Health Minister Veena George confirmed that the cause of Akhil’s death was amoebic meningoencephalitis. He had sought treatment at different hospitals before getting admitted to the Thiruvananthapuram MCH, where he died. Doctors are administering antibiotics for those who have been hospitalised with the symptom. Use of monoclonal antibodies is under consideration. The health department suspects that the infection may be linked to bathing in a stagnant pond at Kannaravila in Athiyannoor panchayat. Water samples from the pond have been collected, and public access to it has been restricted. In the past two months, seven cases of the infection were reported in the state — from Malappuram, Kozhikode, ● More on P4 Kannur, and Thrissur.  3.25 pm: Hasina has resigned, says Bangaldesh Army chief Waker-uz-Zaman 4 pm: Awami League’s Dhaka office set on fire Bangladesh protesters celebrate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation in Dhaka on Monday | AP 5.36 pm: Plane carrying Hasina lands at Hindon Air Base, near Delhi Uncertainty rules First person A n i n d o B a n e r j ee @ Dhaka T he situation was turning volatile as the day began. From my accommodation in an upscale Dhaka locality, I could see thousands of youths thronging the streets since morning. They stormed Ganabhaban, the prime minister’s residence, and took their spoils of war with whoops of joy . Others projected the war outwards and took on everything that came their way, looting shops and ransacking houses — their own country became like Rome to the Vandals. The only certitude was that the regime had collapsed, otherwise uncertainty reigned. Even at the basic level of the idea of Bangladesh: protesters were, after all, even going for the statue of its architect, ‘Banga Bandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, with hammer blows. Is history being rewritten — or even unwritten — for this small nation, no stranger as it is to juntas and assassinations? I could see a strange irony playing out: a moment of joy for a whole mass of people out there, and yet streaked through with contrary emotions like despair and doubt. The Army chief says he has spoken to all parties, barring the deposed Awami League, and his words signal at an interim government. Yet, perhaps he too has little clarity about how events will unfold. I have been in Dhaka — the city of mosques and muslin — for one-and-half years. Of late, the city has resembled a northern Indian city of the early ’90s, roiled by the anti-Mandal Protesters vandalise the statue of Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka on Monday agitation. This too started as an anti-quota protest. But its joyous climax has descended ominously into chaos — which comes in to fill the gap at all points when authority collapses. On Sunday, more than 100, including cops, had died across the country. Monday being the ‘Long March’ day , I was afraid a lot of blood would be spilt on Dhaka streets. Fortunately that didn’t happen. 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express