Dhanmondi arson, demolition: Where were police, firefighters?

Questions are mounting over the role of law enforcement agencies and emergency services during the arson and demolition at the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum and Mujib's residence in the capital's Dhanmondi 32 on Wednesday.

Despite reports of widespread vandalism and fire at the site, there was no visible police action or response from the fire service.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Mohammad Sajjat Ali said, "We tried to control the situation, we tried. I was personally there until late at night."

However, reporters from TBS and other media outlets said there was no visible police presence on the west side of Mirpur Road, particularly near Mujib's residence, after 9pm. 

Many journalists also confirmed they did not see the DMP commissioner at the scene. 

A TBS reporter observed a police van parked in front of Santoor Restaurant on Mirpur Road at around 8:30pm on Wednesday. Several officers were seen standing near the van, but by 9pm, they moved to a nearby traffic police box at Russell Square.

There, many officers were seen seated, scrolling through their mobile phones, while no police were seen approaching the scene in Dhanmondi 32, even after an agitated crowd attacked a man suspected of being an Awami League supporter at around 12:30am.

An officer from the DMP's Ramna Division, on condition of anonymity, said, "At around 7:55pm on Wednesday, a group of students and youth arrived with a procession and called for an attack on the Mujib Memorial Museum using megaphones. Although the police initially tried to intervene, the growing crowd made the police hesitant, and they did not advance further in fear."

At 9:20pm, the TBS reporter observed army personnel arrive at Dhanmondi 32, whistling as they passed the museum before taking position near a house to the west.

Initially, the army personnel attempted to create space and move the crowd away; however, chants of slogans soon filled the air, and hundreds of people surrounded them. Within approximately ten minutes, the army members relocated from the museum's vicinity to the main Mirpur Road, where part of the crowd once again surrounded them.

Amid the unrest, around 10:45pm, a fire was set at "Sudha Sadan" in Dhanmondi 5, the house of Sheikh Hasina's husband MA Wazed Miah.Residents of the adjacent building were forced to disconnect their electrical connections due to the risk of fire and evacuated onto the streets. 

Md Jamal, a security guard of the building, said, "I called at least 16 times over an hour, but they did not respond. When they heard about Sudha Sadan, they would hang up the phone. Finally, one person answered the phone and said any attempt to extinguish the fire there could result in an attack."

Similarly, during the Dhanmondi 32 incident, several people called the National Emergency Service 999 to request help with extinguishing the fire, but the fire service did not arrive. When asked about the lack of response, fire service officials declined to comment.