DHAKA: A demonstration calling for the resignation of the president of Bangladesh came to an end on Wednesday after protesters and riot police battled during an attempt to breach the compound, injuring thirty people.
Although the majority of President Mohammed Shahabuddin's authority is ceremonial, he was crucial to the August student uprising that overthrew former Premier Sheikh Hasina.
On the day she left the country for India, Shahabuddin declared that his former ally had resigned, opening the door for the interim government currently in power.
However, he implied that Hasina's resignation was illegal when he stated in an interview last week that he had not actually seen a formal letter from her to that effect.
On Tuesday, demonstrators gathered outside Shahabuddin's Dhaka complex, calling for his resignation and accusing him of having lingering allegiance to Hasina and her Awami League party.
“Since the student-led protest toppled the fascist regime, there shouldn’t be a president from that regime,” Faruk Hossain, a student leader at the protest, said.
“He must be replaced by a people’s president.”
Several hundred protesters attempted to break through a security cordon and storm the compound shortly before midnight on Wednesday.
Talebur Rahman, a senior police official, said 25 policemen were injured by protesters.
“Nine are still undergoing treatment. The protesters threw stones and attacked them indiscriminately,” he said.
“The situation is now calm, and there is adequate security in place.”
The protesters dispersed after leaders of Students Against Discrimination, the group credited with sparking the uprising against Hasina, visited the site and pledged to find a replacement for President Shahabuddin.
“We will talk to political parties in front of the military chief on Thursday and then choose someone who will hold office,” student leader Hasnat Abdullah was quoted as saying by the Daily Star newspaper.
His colleague Sarjis Alam told the crowd to remain calm.
“If emotion takes over strategy, the country will suffer,” he added, according to the Daily Star report.
Several top officials seen as Hasina loyalists were purged from their positions after her ouster, including Supreme Court justices and the central bank chief.
Their departures usually followed student-led protests outside their homes or offices.
The GSB Hub published this content on 30 Nov,2025.