India Suspends Train Services With Bangladesh as Protests Force Sheikh Hasina to Flee

The ripples of tensions in Bangladesh were felt in India on Monday as the latter suspended all train services after embattled prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled, bringing a turbulent end to the past few days’ raging protests that took the country by storm.

Maitri Express service, which runs between Kolkata and Dhaka five days a week and had been stopped since the past 15 days, will remain cancelled. Similarly, Bandhan Express running between Kolkata and Khulna two days a week will remain suspended indefinitely.

Protests in Bangladesh that began as student-led demonstrations against government hiring rules in July culminated Monday in the prime minister fleeing and the military announcing it would form an interim government

At least 300 people were killed in more than a month of deadly protests that ended the autocratic rule of 76-year-old Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Jubilant crowds had waved flags, some dancing on top of a tank in the streets on Monday morning before hundreds broke through the gates of Hasina’s official residence.

Bangladesh’s Channel 24 broadcast images of crowds running into the compound, waving to the camera as they celebrated, looting furniture and books, with others relaxing on beds. Others smashed a statue of Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s independence hero.

Security forces had supported Hasina’s government throughout the unrest, which began last month against civil service job quotas then escalated into wider calls for her to stand down.

At least 94 people were killed on Sunday, including 14 police officers, the deadliest day of the unrest.

Bangladesh’s army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman said Monday he would “form an interim government” after the prime minister resigned and fled the capital in the face of overwhelming protests.

“I am taking full responsibility,” the general said, dressed in military fatigues and cap, although it was not immediatly clear if he would head a caretaker government.

“We will form an interim government,” Waker said in a broadcast to the nation on state television, adding that Sheikh Hasina had resigned.

“The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed — it is time to stop the violence,” he added.

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