New Delhi/Dhaka: Bangladesh remained calm but tense on Tuesday after the Awami League called for a complete nationwide shutdown to protest the death sentence awarded to its chief and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Security forces maintained tight vigil on the roads in major cities.
Although no incident of violence was reported, traffic remained light and movement of people was restricted in Dhaka and other major cities due to fears of possible unrest following Monday’s high-profile verdict.
“The flow of traffic is light as people preferred to stay indoors,” said a transport operator in Dhaka. Attendance at many offices and educational institutions was low as people opted to stay indoors amid the uncertainty.
Heavily armed police Rapid Action Battalion personnel and paramilitary units have continued to patrol day and night. Authorities maintained a security cordon in parts of the capital, while checkpoints and barricades were set up.
Hasina's Awami League party, in a statement posted on social media on Monday, called for a "complete nationwide shutdown" on Tuesday in protest against Hasina's decision. It has also called for nationwide demonstrations, protests and resistance from November 19 to 21.
"Our planned democracy movement will continue until the fall of the illegal, unconstitutional government of the murderous-fascist (Mohammad) Yunus and the restoration of a democratic state system," the statement said.