Mob sets former B’desh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza’s house on fire

Dhaka, Aug 5 - Protesters have reportedly set on fire the house of former Bangladesh cricket captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza as violence and chaos continued in the country after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the nation on Monday.

Mortaza is a Member of Parliament from Narail-2 constituency in Khulna division, having won the seat for the second consecutive time as an Awami League candidate during the general elections held in Bangladesh earlier this year.

Local media reported that miscreants vandalised and set fire to the house of Mortaza after Sheikh Hasina flew out of the country following massive student protests. 

Mortaza led Bangladesh in 117 matches across formats – the most for his country. He took 390 international wickets and scored 2,955 runs in 36 Tests, 220 ODIs, and 54 T20Is during his long cricketing career.

After quitting the game, he entered politics in 2018 by joining the Hasina-led Awami League and was elected as an MP from the Narail-2 constituency.

Bangladesh's leading daily 'Dhaka Tribune' reported that the protesters also set fire to the District Awami League office and vandalised its President Subash Chandra Bose's house.

Meanwhile, Hasina landed at the Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad near Delhi on Monday evening, arriving in a military transport plane of Bangladesh Air Force as thousands of protesters stormed and vandalised Ganabhaban - the official residence of the Prime Minister in Dhaka.