One killed as violence flares in Bangladesh amid tensions over ex-PM Hasina's planned return

DHAKA: One person was killed and at least eight vehicles were set ablaze in separate incidents across Bangladesh overnight amid escalating tensions over ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's planned return next month, police said on Tuesday.

Unidentified people torched the vehicles, including several buses, and set off crude bombs at multiple locations. A bus driver died of smoke inhalation after a parked bus was set ablaze in southwestern Faridpur while he was sleeping inside it, police said.

Police blamed activists of the Awami League, whose activities have been banned, and its affiliated organisations for several of the incidents.

The incidents came after Bangladesh's government said it was examining reports that Hasina had applied for a new passport and national identity card.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir on Monday ruled out issuing her a passport, saying Bangladesh did not provide passports to "terrorists", and insisted that Dhaka wanted her returned from India under an extradition treaty.

Bangladesh Police on Tuesday said hundreds of activists of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations staged a demonstration at the southern toll plaza of the Padma Bridge in Shariatpur district early Tuesday. They exploded crude bombs and vandalised several vehicles, temporarily disrupting traffic on the bridge.

Railway officials said a coach of the intercity Haor Express was set on fire at Mohanganj railway station in northern Netrokona district early Tuesday. Four seats in the coach were damaged, but railway staff and firefighters brought the blaze under control. Train services were not disrupted.

A police vehicle was set ablaze during clashes between law enforcement personnel and activists of the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League and other Awami League affiliates in southwestern Tungipara, Hasina's hometown, on Tuesday morning, officials said.

.Bangladesh prosecutor says ex-PM Hasina will be executed if she returns.

Hasina, 79, has been living in India since fleeing Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, after a student-led uprising toppled her government and ended her party's 15-year rule.

An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus subsequently took charge.

Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal in November 2025 convicted Hasina of crimes against humanity over the crackdown on protesters during the July-August 2024 uprising.

The tribunal, which tried her in absentia, sentenced her to death on one charge and life imprisonment on another. Hasina has rejected the charges and the proceedings.

Bangladesh has continued to seek Hasina's extradition from India despite a change of government in February this year, when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, came to power.

India has acknowledged receiving Bangladesh's extradition requests for Hasina but has not announced any decision on handing her over. The Ministry of External Affairs said in April that the request was being examined under established processes.

During an audio-only virtual press conference organised in New Delhi on August 5, Hasina said she intended to return to Bangladesh in December despite the possibility of being imprisoned or killed.

The interaction drew a sharp reaction from Dhaka, with its foreign ministry saying it was "outraged" that Hasina had been allowed to engage with the media in New Delhi despite conveying its concerns to the Indian government in advance.

India distanced itself from the event, with the Ministry of External Affairs saying it was organised by a private media entity and that the government had "no involvement whatsoever" in it.

Later that month, Dhaka said a conducive environment for a possible visit to India by Prime Minister Rahman would require New Delhi to expedite Hasina's extradition and hand over other fugitives sought by Bangladesh.