At least 24 people were burnt alive after a mob in Bangladesh on Monday set fire to a hotel owned by an Awami League party leader after the party’s leader Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and left the country.
The incident occurred late at night on Monday at the Zabir International Hotel in Jashore district, owned by the Awami League’s district general secretary, Shahin Chakkladar. Reports say, there was an Indonesian national among the victims.
Jashore General Hospital confirmed the death toll, while hotel staff expressed concerns that additional victims might be discovered in the rubble. Reports indicate that the mob, which opposed the Awami League government, initiated the blaze on the hotel’s ground floor, leading to its rapid spread to higher levels.
Similar incidents were reported nationwide, with mobs targeting the homes and businesses of Awami League leaders and activists, including the party’s central office in Dhaka.
The country plunged into turmoil following Hasina’s resignation and departure to India, with the military intervening to address the power vacuum. Subsequently, widespread violence erupted across Bangladesh, with mobs engaging in street violence, damaging government property, and looting Hasina’s official residence.
