New Delhi: Hours after he virtually addressed a press conference in New Delhi featuring his former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s former cricket captain and Awami League leader Shakib Al Hasan’s house came under attack in Magura, a city in the southwestern part of the country, Wednesday.
According to reports, a group of unidentified individuals vandalised Hasan’s residence by hurling bricks and stones that shattered windows before attempting to set the property on fire. No injuries were reported. “Several miscreants threw brick chips at the house and vandalised windows. They also tried to set the house on fire,” Abdullah Al Mamun, the officer in charge of Magura Sadar Police Station, told The Daily Star.
Local media outlets reported that petrol bombs were thrown during the attack, while residents described hearing loud explosion-like sounds. The police, however, said they had not confirmed the use of petrol bombs.
The attack occurred shortly after Shakib joined a virtual discussion organised by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia, in which the former prime minister addressed journalists from New Delhi, where she has remained since being removed from office in 2024.
Hasan, who joined from Colombo, claimed he was playing a match and could not join live. A voice note sent by him was briefly played at the event. He joined the event later, but did not speak.
During the event, Sheikh Hasina defended her government’s handling of the deadly protests that engulfed Bangladesh in July and August 2024, rejecting allegations of widespread abuses and asserting that the student-led movement that forced her from power was a “meticulously designed” regime-change operation rather than a spontaneous uprising.
A video circulated by the Awami League appeared to capture sounds resembling firecrackers outside Shakib’s residence during the attack. The authenticity of the footage has not been independently verified.
“A grisly petrol bomb attack took place at the residence of Bangladesh’s celebrated cricket icon Sakib Al hasan, hours after the world famous star cricketer appeared at a press conference with honourable party president Sheikh Hasina…This calculated attack is yet another testament to ongoing genocidal campaign against awami league activists in the name of democracy building project, hallmarks of fascism,” the party posted on its X account, calling it ‘neo-fascism’.
Shakib, widely regarded as one of Bangladesh’s most famous cricketers, has become an increasingly polarising public figure because of his political ties to the Awami League. He was elected to Parliament from the Magura-1 constituency in the disputed 2024 general election as an Awami League candidate, a vote that Opposition parties dismissed as lacking meaningful competition.
Following the collapse of the Hasina government in August 2024, the Awami League was barred from political activities. During Wednesday’s address, Hasina called for the ban to be lifted and reiterated her intention to return to Bangladesh despite facing numerous criminal cases.
Hasan has remained outside Bangladesh since the political transition. There are multiple criminal cases against him, including one in which he has been named among several suspects in a murder investigation. Shakib has denied wrongdoing and has said he is prepared to return to Bangladesh if he is guaranteed personal safety and protection from harassment during legal proceedings.
The 39-year-old has continued his cricket career while living with his family in the United States, appearing in franchise leagues including the Caribbean Premier League and the Lanka Premier League. Officials from the Bangladesh Cricket Board have previously said the door remains open for his return to the national team.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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