Mashrafe Mortaza’s house set on fire amid political unrest in Bangladesh

Amidst the unrest in Bangladesh, former skipper Mashrafe Mortaza’s house was reportedly set on fire amid the violence and chaos following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and departure on Monday.

A member of the Parliament from the Narail-2 constituency in Khulna division, Mortaza won his seat again as an Awami League candidate led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the general elections earlier in 2024.

The local media had reported that the vandals had attacked Mortaza’s house and set it on fire after the PM left the country following widespread student protests.

During his career as a cricketer, Mortaza led Bangladesh in 117 matches. He took 390 international wickets and scored 2,955 runs in 36 Tests, 220 ODIs, and 54 T20Is. Following his retirement from the sport, the former skipper joined Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League in 2018 and was elected as an MP from the Narail-2 constituency.

News24 also reported that the protestors also set fire to the District Awami League office and had also damaged the house of its president.

Furthermore, crowds also stormed into the luxurious Ganabhaban, which is the official residence of the Prime Minister. The crowd took away her TV, furniture, and many more of her belongings, even clothes for that matter. Sheikh Hasina fleeing from Bangladesh has ended her second 15-year term in power. She had been leading Bangladesh for 20 of the past 30 years, continuing her father’s political movement, who had been assassinated with his family in a 1975 coup.

After she arrived in India, Hasina’s son came forward and revealed that she wanted to stay in Bangladesh, but due to her family insisting she leave for safety, she made the decision to do so.

“She wanted to stay, she did not want to leave the country at all. But we kept insisting that it wasn’t safe for her. We were concerned for her physical safety first; so we persuaded her to leave,” her son Joy told NDTV