DHAKA: The Special Security Force (SSF), in charge of Opposition Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina's personal security, was withdrawn on Friday night from her residence.

The SSF was withdrawn from her residence on Friday night, said Major General (retd) Tarique Siddiqui, chief of personal security. There was no security at her residence for about seven hours till some policemen arrived on Saturday morning, he told the media. Moreover, the security was removed without the knowledge of any of the house's inmates. However, thousands of Awami League workers guarded it overnight.

The SSF had taken up Ms. Hasina's security for the transitional time till the election. SSF personnel were deployed at the Sudha Sadan residence of the former Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Parliament.

A similar security was provided to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson and outgoing Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, as she was scheduled to hand over power on completion of her five-year tenure.

However, the SSF was "mysteriously" withdrawn from Hasina's residence

Awami League general secretary and Opposition 14-party combine coordinator Abdul Jalil has termed the development as yet a "new conspiracy" of the Khaleda Government. Against the backdrop of the volatile political scenario and repeated attempts on Ms. Hasina's life in the recent past, the withdrawal of the SSF was "mysterious," he said.

Ms. Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh, was assassinated along with most of his family members in 1975 by a group of army men. Only Ms. Hasina and her younger sister Rehena survived because they were staying abroad.

Repeated attempts were also made on Ms. Hasina's life when she was Prime Minister. The last attempt was made on August 21, 2004, when she miraculously survived a grenade attack in Dhaka which killed 23 senior party leaders and workers.

The Khaleda Government has failed to book the perpetrators of attacks on the secular Opposition parties that occurred during its tenure. The Awami League alleged such attacks were carried out by Islamic extremists in collaboration with Government agencies.

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