Sheikh Hasina lands in Hindon hours after resigning as PM; NSA Doval meets her

It is learnt that Hasina has been moved to a safe location after the meeting and it is unlikely that she would leave India on Monday night.

New Delhi: Embattled Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina landed at the Hindon airbase on the outskirts of Delhi on Monday, hours after she resigned as the prime minister following weeks of deadly anti-government protests that killed nearly 300 people.

Hasina arrived in India as part of her plan to travel to London, multiple diplomatic sources said shortly after the C130J military transport aircraft of Bangladesh Air Force that carried the Awami League leader touched down at Hindon in Ghaziabad.

---

But that plan appeared uncertain on Monday night after British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in London that the people of Bangladesh “deserve a full and independent UN-led investigation into the events of the past few weeks”.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, accompanied by senior officials, met Hasina at the Hindon airbase and is understood to have conveyed India’s position on the developments in Bangladesh, sources said.

It is learnt that Hasina has been moved to a safe location after the meeting and it is unlikely that she would leave India on Monday night.

In a related development, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also deliberated on the unfolding situation in Bangladesh.

Separately, Jaishankar briefed Modi about the situation in Bangladesh. The external affairs minister also apprised the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi about the developments in the neighbouring country.

The sources said Hasina’s plan was to leave for London. However, “certain issues” have come up bringing uncertainty to the plan.

India is yet to make any comment on the developments in Bangladesh. It is expected that Jaishankar will make a statement in Parliament on Tuesday on the situation in the neighbouring country.

Hasina, 76, who ruled the South Asian country with an iron hand for 15 years, resigned as the prime minister following the massive protests that initially began as an agitation against a job quota scheme but weeks later morphed into a mass movement demanding her ouster from power.

The controversial quota system provided for 30 per cent reservations in civil services jobs for the families of veterans who fought the 1971 liberation war.

Hasina’s Awami League retained power in the parliamentary election in January that was boycotted by the opposition parties.

On Monday, the former Bangladesh prime minister, accompanied by her sister Sheikh Rehana, left her official residence ‘Ganabhavan’ in a military chopper to an airbase, the sources said.

From the airbase, she flew into Hindon in a C-130 military transport aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force, they said.

India decided to provide a safe passage through the Indian airspace to Hasina’s aircraft following a request from Dhaka, the sources cited above told PTI. Indian government sources said New Delhi is closely following the fast-paced developments in Dhaka. Meanwhile, British foreign secretary Lammy, said that the “last two weeks in Bangladesh have seen unprecedented levels of violence and tragic loss of life. A transitional period has been announced by the Chief of the Army Staff. ”

“All sides now need to work together to end the violence, restore calm, deescalate the situation and prevent any further loss of life,” he said in a statement.

Lammy said the people of Bangladesh deserve a full and independent UN-led investigation into the events of the past few weeks.

In Dhaka, Bangladesh Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman said Hasina has resigned and an interim government is taking over the responsibilities.

“I’m taking all responsibility (of the country). Please cooperate,” he said in a televised address.

The Army chief said he had met political leaders and told them the Army would take over responsibility for law and order.

There were clashes across Bangladesh as the Hasina government tried to quell the protests against the 30 per cent reservations in civil services jobs for the families of veterans who fought the 1971 liberation war.

While the quota system was scaled back by the Supreme Court, a fresh wave of violence erupted over the weekend.

More than 100 people were killed in the protests against the Hasina government over the last two days.