• The police faced resentment for leading a lethal crackdown on protests.
• The de facto cabinet expressed “grave concern” over recent attacks on Hindus and other minorities.
• Hasina fled by helicopter to neighboring India a week ago as protesters flooded Dhaka’s streets.

On Monday, Bangladeshi police resumed patrols in the capital, Dhaka, following a weeklong strike that created a law and order vacuum after the abrupt ouster of autocratic ex-premier Sheikh Hasina.

Last week, officers disappeared from the streets of the sprawling megacity of 20 million people after Hasina’s resignation and departure abroad ended her 15-year rule.

The police faced widespread resentment for leading a lethal crackdown on the protests that forced Sheikh Hasina’s departure, with 42 officers among the more than 450 people killed.

The police had vowed not to return to work until their safety on duty was ensured. However, they agreed to resume their duties after late-night negotiations with the new interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

“It’s good to be back,” assistant commissioner Snehasish Das said while standing at a busy intersection directing traffic.

“As we feel secure now, we are back on duty.”

Student-led protests against Hasina’s government had remained largely peaceful until the police attempted to violently disperse them.

According to the national police union, around 450 of the country’s 600 police stations were targeted in arson and vandalism attacks over the past month.

Some police stations began reopening late last week under the protection of the army, an institution respected for largely refraining from participating in the crackdown.

In the police’s absence, the students who led the protests that toppled Hasina volunteered to restore law and order. They managed looting and reprisal attacks in the hours following her departure by acting as traffic wardens, forming overnight neighborhood watch patrols, and guarding Hindu temples and other places of worship, quickly settling the unrest.

Das said that police and the students who had been performing their duties experienced “no tension” between them.

“Students have done a tremendous job in the past few days,” he added. “Our thanks to them.”

The volunteers said they felt relieved to return their responsibilities.

“It’s too difficult for us to manage the vehicles,” Chanu Abdullah, 27, said. “I’m really thankful the police came back.”

Yunus’s de facto cabinet, now administering the country, expressed “grave concern” over recent attacks on Hindus and other minorities.

In its first official statement on Sunday night, the cabinet pledged to “find ways to resolve such heinous attacks.”

Bangladeshi Hindus, who make up around eight percent of the country’s 170 million people, have frequently faced violence during periods of upheaval.

Since last week, hundreds have arrived at India’s border, requesting to cross.

The leadership of Jamaat, Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, announced that it would meet with representatives of the Hindu community and other minority leaders later on Monday to ease tensions.

At 76, Hasina fled by helicopter to neighboring India a week ago as protesters flooded Dhaka’s streets, marking a dramatic end to her iron-fisted rule.

Her government faced accusations of widespread human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killing of thousands of political opponents.

However, new Home Minister Sakhawat Hossain stated that the government had no plans to ban Hasina’s Awami League party, which played a crucial role in the country’s independence movement.

“The party has made many contributions to Bangladesh — we don’t deny this,” he told reporters.

“When the election comes, (they should) contest the elections.”

Interim leader Yunus returned from Europe on Thursday to lead a temporary administration tasked with the monumental challenge of guiding democratic reforms.

The 84-year-old, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microfinance, is credited with helping millions of Bangladeshis escape grinding poverty.

He assumed office as “chief adviser” to a caretaker administration composed entirely of civilians except for Hossain, a retired brigadier-general. Yunus has expressed his intention to hold elections “within a few months.”

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