World News | Police Action During Student Protest Not Unreasonable or Unjustified: Ex-Hasina Aide

By Vishu Adhana New Delhi [India], November 10 (ANI): Defending the security forces' handling of the violent student protests that preceded the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government, former Bangladesh minister and Awami League leader Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury on Monday said law enforcement officials acted under extreme provocation and that their response "was neither unreasonable nor disproportionate." Also Read | Did a Muslim Migrant Urinate on Pork in a French Supermarket? Fact Check Reveals It Was a Prank Video. Chowdhury, who served as Education Minister in the Hasina cabinet, said the protests that began over job quota reforms spiralled into violent attacks on police stations, with officers being targeted and killed. According to him, the administration's only mistake was not anticipating the "sinister plan" behind the unrest and failing to take pre-emptive action before the situation escalated. Also Read | Indians Kidnapped in Mali: 5 Indian Nationals Abducted in Bamako As Al Qaeda-Linked Terrorist Group Close In on Capital, Embassy Working for Safe Release. "When law enforcement is attacked with lethal weapons, police stations are burned, and members are killed in large numbers, they're not going to sit down and wait for a government order on what type of weapon they should use. So they had to respond," he told ANI in an interview when asked about the protests. "The question is whether that response was reasonable and proportionate, given the situation. In no way do I find their responses to be unreasonable or disproportionate. When you have members of the police being burned to death -- a pregnant constable begging for her life, saying she's carrying a baby in her womb and should be spared -- and she was burned alive, what do you expect from law enforcement? Given the scale of attacks, especially around Dhaka city, they had no other option." Chowdhury maintained that the Hasina government initially viewed the protests as a "legitimate demand" over the job quota issue but was unaware of a larger plot at play. "From the very beginning, we were tolerant. We saw it as a legitimate demand for job quota reform. It was a matter pending before the High Court, and we didn't want to interfere before the court's decision. Our mistake was perhaps not taking pre-emptive action and not realising that such a sinister plan was underway," he said. The protests, which erupted in mid-2024, initially centred around demands to abolish the government's quota system in public jobs. However, they quickly turned into large-scale anti-government demonstrations. By late July, clashes between protesters and security forces had spread across Dhaka and other major cities. On August 5, 2024, the military stepped in amid the chaos, forcing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the country. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus subsequently assumed charge as head of the interim administration, which Chowdhury and other Awami League leaders have described as a "coup" backed by anti-government elements. Referring to the months following the takeover, Chowdhury accused the Yunus-led administration of dismantling Bangladesh's secular political fabric, persecuting Awami League members, and releasing individuals convicted of terrorism and serious crimes. He said the country's minorities, liberal voices, and cultural figures were now living in fear. Chowdhury also alleged that certain international players had supported the movement that led to the government's ouster, pointing to alleged funding through NGOs and what he described as a "collusion between Western political families and local dissidents. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)