Attackers set fire to headquarters of Bangladesh party that backed ousted leader Sheikh Hasina
Dhaka (AP/PTI): Attackers set fire to the headquarters of a Bangladesh party that supported the country's ousted leader Sheikh Hasina on Thursday night, media reports said. There was no information if anyone was injured.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on the Jatiya Party offices in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka.
TV stations and other media said the attackers stormed the party headquarters in Dhaka's Bijoy Nagar area, clashing with party members who were there and eventually setting the premises on fire.
The extend of the damage was not immediately known. Firefighters rushed to the scene, according to Rashed bin Khaled, an official of the Fire Service and Civil Defense. Bin Khaled, who spoke to The Associated Press by phone, had no other details.
The party is Bangladesh's third largest and was founded by former military dictator H.M. Ershad in the 1980s.
As the attack was underway, a prominent leader of a student protest movement that led to Hasina's ouster in August said the Jatiya Party should be “destroyed” for its support of her government.
Hasnat Abdullah, the student leader, claimed in a Facebook post that the Jatiya party was "a national betrayer."
Abdullah is from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, which spearheaded the July protests. He also urged students to gather at the Dhaka University and march toward the Jatiya Party headquarters.
Mujibul Haque Chunnu, the party's secretary general, blamed the students for the attack. “People are watching what they are doing with us,” he said. “It is live in social media ... they are doing it publicly, openly.”
Hasina's Bangladesh Awami League party ruled the country for 15 years, since 2009. Her critics said the Jatiya Party had acted to give Hasina's rule a veneer or democracy as other major political parties did not take part in the elections.
Hasina fled the country to India on Aug. 5, after the student-led demonstration morphed into an anti-government protest movement. Hundreds of students, security officials and others were killed during the turmoil.
Later, hundreds more, including Hasina's supporters, were killed in revenge attacks or in mob violence across the South Asian nation. She now faces arrest warrants for the killings in July and August.
Muhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi Nobel laurate, took over as head of an interim government backed by the student group and the country's influential military in August.
However, his administration has struggled to restore order.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Gill, Mandhana win top BCCI awards
New Delhi (PTI): Prolific batters Shubman Gill and Smriti Mandhana were named the Best International Cricketers (Men's and Women's) at the BCCI Naman Awards 2026 here on Sunday, recognising their outstanding performances in the 2024–2025 season.
Gill won the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award, while Mandhana received the award for the fifth time.
For Gill, it was his second Cricketer of the Year award after first winning it in 2023.
Former stars Roger Binny, Rahul Dravid and Mithali Raj were honoured with the Col. C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the BCCI's highest honour, recognising their outstanding service to Indian cricket.
India's five trophy-winning sides (2025 ICC Champions Trophy, 2025 Women's ODI World Cup, 2025 U-19 Women's World Cup, 2026 Men's U-19 World Cup, and 2026 T20 World Cup) were honoured as well on the occasion.
Gill enjoyed a stellar 2025 and established himself as one of the team's most dependable batters in the longer formats.
On the tour of England, skipper Gill led from the front in the five-Test series, finishing as the top run-getter with 754 runs in 10 innings at an average of 75.40, including four centuries and a top score of 269.
Gill also played a pivotal role in India's Champions Trophy triumph last year, having entered the tournament as the No.1-ranked ODI batter in the world. He made an unbeaten 101 against Bangladesh in India's opening match, and finished the tournament with 188 runs.
Mandhana finished 2025 with 1,703 international runs, including 1,362 in ODIs, the most by any woman in a calendar year. In doing so, Mandhana became the first batter in women's ODI history to score 1,000 runs in a single calendar year.
Mandhana also made handsome contributions to India's maiden Women's World Cup title triumph, aggregating 434 runs in nine matches to end as the tournament as India's leading run-scorer and the second-highest overall.
Before the World Cup, the left-hander Mandhana smashed a 50-ball century against Australia in New Delhi to register the fastest ODI hundred by an Indian batter, surpassing Virat Kohli's 52-ball effort.
Shafali Varma (Best Woman Cricketer Senior Domestic One-Day), Ira Jadhav (Best Woman Cricketer (Domestic), Harsh Dubey (Best All Rounder in the Ranji Trophy), and Ayush Mhatre (Best All Rounder in Domestic Limited Overs Competitions) too won awards for their strong performances across the 2024-25 domestic season.
