A group of protesters were holding a feast at Dhanmondi 32 as remains of the demolished house of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were being taken away last night.

As of 11:45pm, around 500-600 people were seen around the house. Many were curious onlookers; some of them went looking into the underground of the building.

At least 100 people were on the premises. Some were manually dismantling the structure, taking apart bricks and rods using sledgehammers.

A fire was seen on the top floor of an adjacent building around 10:30pm.

In the afternoon, the protesters slaughtered a cow and the preparations for a feast began by the night.

Using loudspeakers, the protesters demanded justice for all the wrongs done by the Awami League during its 15-year rule, including the execution of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders on war crimes charges.

No law enforcers were seen around the spot.

The protest was sparked by an announcement of an online programme where deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina was slated to speak.

The protesters launched a Facebook event titled "Bulldozer March", which brought crowds to Dhanmondi 32 at 7:30pm on Wednesday. By 9:30pm, the building was set ablaze.

Shortly before midnight, at least one crane and an excavator arrived at the scene. By 2:00am yesterday, parts of the building were razed to the ground.

The excavators left the scene by around 11:00am yesterday, leaving the house to be demolished manually.

More than half of the building was torn down by that time, while a number of people were tearing apart the rest of the structure with hammers and digging bars.

The protesters also started razing down the building behind Bangabandhu's residence. This building housed an art gallery and was an extension of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.

Another building in the adjacent plot with the offices of several Awami League outfits was also being demolished. By noon, most of the inner walls had been torn down, with the main structure still standing.

Thousands of people from all walks of life thronged the site. Most of them were visitors who took photos, selfies and videos, with the demolished house and hoisted flags in the background. Some were chanting slogans intermittently.

Some other groups of low-income people primarily focused on tearing out the pipes and other metal fittings of the buildings.

They were taking away anything with a resale value, including books. Piles of the materials on the road were being loaded onto rickshaws or vans. The rest of the rubble remained untouched.

A young man, wearing a flag bandana, walked out of the art gallery building with a book on Sheikh Russell, Mujib's youngest son killed with most members of the family on August 15, 1975.

"I found it inside. There were a few but people took them all. You won't find any now," he said.

Sirajul, a resident of Hazaribagh, was seen loading various items onto his van. "I'll sell them to scrap dealers. What else can I do? Everyone is taking things, so I took whatever I could find," he said.

Sujan, who was cutting rods from the partially demolished building, said, "They are demolishing it, so we are taking whatever we can. Whatever we get is a gain."

By around 12:30pm, a group gathered outside the house with a microphone and chanted slogans in favour of the 2024 student-led mass uprising and against the fallen Awami League regime.

The slogans included: "Delhi Na Dhaka? Dhaka, Dhaka! (Delhi or Dhaka? Dhaka, Dhaka!)"; "Bottrish Na Chhottrish? Chhottrish, Chhottrish! (Thirty-two or thirty-six? Thirty-six, thirty-six!)"; "Ekta Ekta League Dhor, Dhoira Dhoira Jobai Kor (Catch League members, one by one, and execute them)"; "Dalali Na Mukti? Mukti, Mukti! (Brokerage or freedom? Freedom, freedom!"; "Khuni Hasinar Fashi Chai (We demand execution of murderer Hasina"; "Amar Bhai Kobore, Khuni Keno Baire? (My brother is in the grave, why is the murderer free?)"; and "Sobkhane Khobor De, Mujibbader Kobor De (Spread the word to everyone, bury Mujibism.)"

Jihadul Islam, one of the participants, said, "Where is the arrogance of power now? Where is the pain of losing loved ones? People couldn't even walk past this house during the day. Today, those same people are demolishing the house, taking away bricks as they please. I hope future leadership will learn from the downfall of this autocracy."

Meanwhile, some people beat a man and a woman in front of the Dhanmondi-32 residence between 11:00am and 11:30am. The identity of the victims could not be confirmed. Eyewitnesses said they were beaten for chanting "Joy Bangla" and speaking in favour of the AL.

After the injured man fell to the ground following the assault around 11:00am, several people took him away from the scene and place him on a rickshaw.

Shortly afterwards, the woman began speaking in favour of the AL, witnesses said. She reportedly referred to the house as "Apar Bari ( sister's house)", which led to an argument between her and the angry crowd.

Subsequently, the crowd beat and humiliated her.

A journalist who witnessed the incident told The Daily Star that the woman was taken towards the main road. She pleaded with the crowd not to hit her. Later, a few other women helped her onto a rickshaw.

Earlier, the overnight demonstration at the site had resumed after a brief pause, with hundreds gathering at the location.

SUDHA SADAN

The "Bulldozer March" programme was not limited to Dhanmondi 32. After launching the demolition there, protesters set fire to Sudha Sadan, Hasina's residence at Dhanmondi-5, around 10:45pm on Wednesday.

The fire set on Wednesday night was still burning in some parts of the building yesterday morning. By noon, despite the intense heat inside, people were removing rods, sofas, chairs, tables, partially burnt furniture, air conditioners, refrigerators, and other items.

Saleha Akhtar was loading various items onto a rickshaw from the front of the house. "Everything is burnt. Many people came early in the morning and took whatever they could. I also took whatever I found. If I can sell it, I might get some money," she said.

For some time in the past, the Awami League had offices in this house. It remained locked afterwards, with Hasina visiting the house on some occasions. Throughout her tenure, a large number of security personnel were deployed to protect the house.