Shakib Al Hasan’s Magura Residence Attacked With Petrol Bombs Hours After Sheikh Hasina Event In Delhi

New Delhi, August 5: Hours after former Bangladeshi player Shakib Al Hasan joined a media interaction addressed by ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, unidentified miscreants have thrown petrol bombs at former Bangladeshi player Shakib Al Hasan’s residence, attempting to set fire to his house located in Magura.

The event was hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in New Delhi today.

According to the authorities, the incident took place around 9:00 pm in the Keshab Mor area of the town. “Several miscreants threw brick chips at the house and vandalised windows. They also tried to set the house on fire,” the OC Md Abdullah Al Mamun of Magura Sadar Police Station was quoted as saying by the Daily Star.

The OC said the identities of those involved in the incident were not immediately known. Police personnel were deployed around the house following the incident, he added.

The Awami League, of which Shakib was a part of has responded strongly to the attacks and said that the ‘neo-fascist’ rulers of Bangladesh are targeting anyone who is supporting them. “Torching residences: the cost of attending Awami League press conference. Neo fascism engulfs Bangladesh,” the Awami League said in a statement.

The statement further said, detailing the incident, “A grisly petrol bomb attack took place at the residence of Bangladesh’s celebrated cricket icon Sakib Al Hasan, hours after the world-famous star cricketer appeared at a press conference with honourable party president Sheikh Hasina. Ahead of the press conference, BNP, Islamist Jamaat and NCP all publicly threatened national media outlets to weaponise the judiciary to sue in case of reports of the press conferences. This calculated attack is yet another testament to the ongoing genocidal campaign against Awami League activists in the name of the democracy-building project, hallmarks of fascism.”

Sheikh Hasina said she was determined to return to Bangladesh in December, declaring that she was ready to face arrest, or even deatth, in what she called a mission to restore democracy.