PM Sheikh Hasina resigns, leaves Bangladesh amid massive protests

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reportedly resigned and left the country in a military helicopter amid massive protests against her government that has killed more than 106 people since Sunday, 4 August. According to a report by BBC Bangla, the helicopter is headed for Agartala, the capital of India.

However, there was no official confirmation about her quitting and leaving Dhaka. According an update issued by Reuters and a few other agencies, the Bangladesh Army chief has said there "no need for curfew or any Emergency in country, we will find a solution to crisis by tonight".

The private Jamuna television news channel reported that Hasina was forced to quit as prime minister after massive protests against her government over a controversial quota system that reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971.

The government earlier ordered a complete internet shutdown as protestors asked the general public to join a 'long march to Dhaka'. However, a government agency gave a verbal order to resume broadband internet services around 1.15 pmon Monday.

In a televised address to the nation, Bangladesh Army chief general Waker-Uz-Zaman urged citizens to remain patient and maintain peace.

According to reports, over 100 people have been killed and over 1,000 injured in the clashes that took place between the police and protesters on Sunday.

"With yesterday's count, the total death toll in anti-government protests crossed 300 in just three weeks, making it the bloodiest period in the history of Bangladesh's civil movement," reported The Daily Star.

The student-led non-cooperation movement put immense pressure on the government led by Hasina over the past many weeks.

The students had been protesting against a 30 per cent reservation in government jobs for relatives of freedom fighters who wrested independence for Bangladesh from Pakistan in a bloody civil war in 1971 in which, according to Dhaka officials, 3 million people were killed in the genocide by Pakistani troops and their supporters.

After the Supreme Court slashed the reservations to 5 per cent, student leaders put the protests on hold but the demonstrations flared up because the students said the government ignored their call to release all their leaders, making the resignation of PM Hasina their primary demand.