Bangladeshi prime minister accused of 'crocodile tears' after protest leaves 150 dead

Bangladesh's prime minister Sheikh Hasina is under fire for "shedding crocodile tears" over damage caused to a railway station during a protest against her government that left more than 150 people dead. Ms Hasina was seen wiping away tears in pictures taken during her visit to a metro station in Mirpur, as social media users lambasted her for what they saw as her apparent lack of empathy for the victims of violence.

- NAMITA SINGH

Police fired rubber bullets, released teargas, and threw sound-grenades in an effort to disperse tens of thousands of protesters who came out onto the streets to rail against job quotas. The government denied that any live rounds had been fired, but hospital sources said dead and injured people had wounds from bullets and shotgun pellets.

Rights groups and critics accuse Ms Hasina of becoming increasingly autocratic during her 15 years in power. They say her time in office has been marked by mass arrests of political opponents and activists, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings. She denies all of these charges.

"What kind of mentality leads them to destroy facilities that make people's lives easier?" the leader was quoted as saying by the Business Standard during her visit to Mirpur. "Dhaka city was clogged with traffic. The metro rail offered respite. I cannot accept the destruction of this transport facility made with modern technology," she said of the station, where ticket vending machines and signalling control stations had been shattered.