New Delhi: A petrol bomb was hurled at the ancestral home of former Bangladesh cricket captain and ex-Awami League MP Shakib Al Hasan late on Wednesday night, just hours after he appeared virtually at a press conference along with former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in India, the party has said.
The attack occurred around 8.45 pm local time at Shakib Al Hasan’s ancestral residence in the Keshabmor area of Magura town, according to media reports. The house was also reportedly vandalised.
“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 judiciary to sue in case of reports of the press conferences,” Hasina’s party said in a post on X.
There was no immediate reaction from authorities in Bangladesh, as reported by Hindustan Times.
The attack unfolded just hours after Sheikh Hasina addressed a virtual press conference hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in New Delhi.
Calling it a calculated attack, the Awami League said that it was “yet another testament to ongoing genocidal campaign” against the party activists in the name of “democracy building project”.
Hasina’s Key Remarks
In her virtual address, Sheikh Hasina said she is resolved to return to Bangladesh in December, adding that she is ready to face arrest or even death as part of what she called a mission to restore democracy.
“My return is not about power, it’s about putting Bangladesh back on track of development, secularism and prosperity,” she said.
The 78-year-old former prime minister recognised the danger she could face upon going back to Bangladesh.
“I know, they may put me in jail or kill me,” she said, adding, “I will go back home to be with my people. I have decided to go and I will go to Bangladesh.”
Hasina has been residing in India since August 5, 2024, when she left Dhaka after her government fell following months of anti-government protests.
In November last year, a special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced her to death in absentia on allegations of “crimes against humanity” tied to her government’s suppression of the 2024 student-led protests. Since that verdict, Bangladesh has repeatedly pressed India to extradite her.
According to Hasina, organised groups had deliberately transformed the protests into a violent political campaign.
“I was forced away from my country but I am never separated from my people,” she said.
Alongside Hasina and her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, several Awami League figures participated, including former Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel attended the press conference virtually.
Hasina’s choice to address journalists from Indian soil had already triggered a diplomatic row. Earlier this week, Dhaka formally asked New Delhi to clarify its position on the planned press conference.
