A critical phone call from India is at the center of revelations about how Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped a dangerous situation during last year’s widespread public unrest in Bangladesh. The volatile events of August 5 saw the nation gripped by violent protests, with mobs making their way towards the Prime Minister’s official residence in Dhaka. During the height of this crisis, a senior Indian official known to Hasina made a phone call to her while she was inside the Ganabhaban. This conversation is cited as the immediate trigger for her decision to flee the country. Reports indicate she departed by helicopter just twenty minutes before the mob arrived at her residence, later boarding a cargo flight to India. This timely external communication is presented as instrumental in preventing a potentially catastrophic outcome, drawing parallels to the tragic fate of her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The book details the intense struggle of military leaders to persuade Hasina to evacuate. On August 5, 2024, even by 1:30 PM, the Bangladesh Army Chief, along with the Air Force and Navy Chiefs, could not convince an “adamant” Hasina to leave. She sought counsel from her sister, Sheikh Rehana, and her son, Sajeeb Wajed, who urged her to seek safety in India. Hasina’s initial refusal was rooted in her pride and a refusal to abandon her country. However, a direct and clear message from an ‘identified’ Indian official reportedly altered her stance, prompting her immediate departure. Her request to make a recorded speech was denied by the service chiefs due to the imminent threat of the crowd storming Ganabhaban. She subsequently traveled to India, arriving at Ghaziabad’s Hindon Airbase, where she has remained in exile.