Mohammad Yunus appeals for calm as authorities scramble to bring law and order under control

DHAKA: Nobel laureate Prof Mohammad Yunus, the designated head of Bangladesh's interim government, on Wednesday fervently appealed everybody "to stay calm" and "refrain from all kinds of violence" as the country witnessed a major reshuffle in the security establishment after the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government.

"Let us ensure that we make the best use of this new victory. Let us not lose this victory because of any mistake of ours," said the 84-year-old economist, who is expected to return home from Paris to take charge. "I appeal to all to remain calm in the current situation, refrain from all forms of violence and destruction."

His appeal comes as a top police official called on every member of the police force to resume their duties gradually and maintain law and order in the violence-hit nation, amid reports of attacks on security personnel and their offices.

With police absent from their duty to keep law and order or manage traffic, students carried out traffic management as volunteers for the second consecutive day on Wednesday.

The students, including members of Bangladesh Scouts, were seen controlling the traffic movement at several places, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

"The police are friends of the people and work for the public. We cannot imagine a society without the police. Therefore, I request our police members once again to ignore rumours and return to their duties in a phased manner, ensuring that security arrangements are properly in place," said Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG) A K M Shahidur Rahman, who was appointed as the focal person of the Bangladesh Police on Tuesday to handle the current crisis.

Rahman has now been appointed as the Director General of elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in a fresh reshuffle on Wednesday, according to home ministry which reconstituted the top positions in the security establishment.

The ministry appointed additional police inspector general Mainul Hasan as capital Dhaka’s new police commissioner replacing Habibur Rahman, who was attached to the police headquarters.

There were reports of attacks on police stations and facilities across the country on Tuesday, resulting in numerous police casualties, which have led to this unprecedented situation, the newspaper said.

The reshuffle comes hours after President Mohammed Shahabuddin appointed Yunus as the head of an interim government on Tuesday night.

Former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who was released from jail after the ouster of her arch-rival Hasina, addressed a massive rally of her party in Dhaka where she appealed for peace instead of destruction and revenge to rebuild the country.

Zia, 79, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for graft in 2018 under the rule of Hasina.

"I have been released now. I want to thank the brave people who were in a do-or-die struggle to make possible the impossible," said the chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

"This victory brings us a new possibility to come back from the debris of plunder, corruption and ill-politics. We need to reform this country as a prosperous one," she said.

"No destruction, no anger and no revenge, we need love and peace to rebuild our country," said Zia, who has received a renewed passport.

Attorney General Advocate Abu Mohammad Amin Uddin, who was appointed in October 2020, resigned on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, businesses on Wednesday demanded immediate restoration of law and order to ensure the safety of their production units amid incidents of arson attacks on factories over the last two days.

They said they opened factories today, particularly the garment units, but many cannot run properly fearing unrest and vandalism, the Daily Star newspaper reported, citing a press conference by the International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICC-B).

Six top officials of Bangladesh Bank including Deputy Governor Kazi Sayedur Rahman resigned as unrest erupted at Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday, the second day after offices reopened, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

It said that more than a hundred officials of Bangladesh Bank stormed the bank governor's office, forcing several deputy governors to leave the office claiming the duo was helping the bank looters.

Bodies of at least 29 supporters of Hasina’s Awami League party were recovered across the country through Tuesday, taking the overall death toll to 469 in almost three weeks since the protest first started in July over a quota system in government jobs.

Media reports also flagged more and more cases of violence against minorities surfacing through Tuesday, prominent among them being the massive vandalism and destruction at popular folk band Joler Gaan’s frontman Rahul Ananda's residence on Monday prompting the singer and his family to take shelter at a secret place.

The Daily Star quoted Saiful Islam Jarnal, one of Joler Gaan's founding members who described that the mob after broking the main gate, started ravaging the house taking whatever they could find for themselves - from furniture, mirrors to valuables and then torched the whole house along with Rahul Anand's over 3,000 musical instruments, which he designed and made over the years.

Terming attacks on minorities as “against the fundamental spirit” of the students’ movement, Transparency International Bangladesh has called on authorities to ensure the security of religious minorities and state assets in the violence-hit nation.

Several Hindu temples, households and businesses have been vandalised and at least two Hindu leaders affiliated with Hasina’s Awami League party have been killed in the violence, according to two community leaders in Dhaka.