“We escaped death by 20-25 minutes,” says former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina

Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina has alleged that there was a conspiracy to kill her and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana, the moment she was ousted from power.

“Rehana and I survived – just 20-25 minutes apart we escaped death”, Sheikh Hasina said on an audio speech posted on the Facebook page of her Bangladesh Awami League party late on Friday.

In August last year, a student-led movement ousted Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, after weeks of protests and clashes that killed over 600 people. Hasina, 76, fled to India and an interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus was formed.

Sheikh Hasina recalled that there were conspiracies to kill her at various times.

“I just feel that surviving the killings on August 21, or surviving the huge bomb in Kotalipara, surviving on this time August 5, 2024, there must be a will of Allah, a hand of Allah”, she said.

“Otherwise, I’m not going to survive this time!” she added.

“You later saw how they planned to kill me”, Hasina said.

“However, it seems to be a mercy of Allah that I am still alive because Allah wants me to do something more”, she said.

“Although I am suffering, I am without my country, without my home, everything has been burned”, she said in an emotionally tearful voice.

Sheikh Hasina’s security was very high as she escaped several assassination plots. The 2004 Dhaka grenade attack took place at an anti-terrorism rally organized by Awami League on Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004. The attack left 24 dead and more than 500 injured. The attack was carried out at 5:22 pm after Sheikh Hasina, the then leader of opposition had finished addressing a crowd of 20,000 people from the back of a truck. Hasina also sustained some injuries in the attack.

The Kotalipara bomb was another plot to kill Sheikh Hasina that she referred to in her audio message. The 76kg bomb was recovered on July 21, 2000, and two days later, the 40 kg bomb was recovered at Sheikh Lutfor Rahman Ideal College in Kotalipara, where Awami League President and the then leader of the opposition Sheikh Hasina was supposed to address the rally on July 22, 2000.