Bangladesh crisis: Armed robbers attack, molest Dhaka residents, says report

Amid the turmoil in Bangladesh, residents in several areas of Dhaka have said they are spending sleepless nights in fear of being attacked by armed robbers.

According to a report with a local newspaper, many residential areas in Dhaka were attacked by robbers in the wee hours of August 8.

Several robbers came in trucks, barged into homes and looted valuables, the report said, adding, that many female residents were even molested.

In various social media posts, Hindus residing in Dhaka's Uttara said there was no help as the police in the country are on strike with the law enforcement agencies.

Though the country's army has provided helpline numbers, but those, most of the times go unanswered, the report said.

One of the posts on Facebook said many armed robbers in the area were apprehended by locals and were handed over to the army. A large number of weapons were recovered from their possession.

The report stated that the residents claimed the robbers belonged to the Bihari community.

The claims come days after it was reported that Pakistan's spy agency, Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), was involved in influencing the unrest in Bangladesh.

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER TO TAKE OATH AS HEAD OF INTERIM GOVERNMENT

On Thursday, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Mohammad Yunus, is set to take oath as the head of Bangladesh's interim government, as he made a fervent appeal to everyone to stay calm and "refrain from all kinds of violence" to make the best use of "our new victory".

As authorities scrambled to bring the law and order situation under control, Army chief Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman on Wednesday announced that the interim government would take oath around 8 pm on Thursday. He said the advisory council may have 15 members.

Gen Zaman further said that the armed forces will provide all possible support to 84-year-old Yunus after Sheikh Hasina resigned as Prime Minister and fled the country following violent anti-government protests spearheaded by the Students Against Discrimination movement.

STUDENTS MANAGING TRAFFIC

With police absent from their duty to keep law and order or manage traffic, students carried out traffic management as volunteers for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

There were reports of attacks on police stations and facilities across the country on Tuesday, resulting in numerous police casualties, it added.

Yunus, whose name was first proposed for the top job by the coordinators of the students' movement, congratulated the "brave students" who took the lead in making, what he said, "our Second Victory Day possible", and appealed to all students, political parties and non-political people to stay calm.

Bodies of at least 29 supporters of Hasina's Awami League party were recovered across the country through Tuesday, taking the overall death toll to 469 in almost three weeks since the protest first started in July, according to local media reports.

Sheikh Hasina flew to Hindon air base, near Delhi, by a Bangladesh military aircraft on Monday.