A woman who stays in a housing complex close to Adabor police station in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur said gunshots rang out post-11pm and continued till early on Tuesday as a large group of men attacked the police station.

Sanjida Ferdush, who works for a private company in Dhaka, said she and her husband were scared and fortified the main door with a dining table. They also kept the collapsible gate of their flat locked at all times.

Ferdush recounted her experience on Tuesday:

We heard what sounded like gunshots minutes after 11pm.

Both of us stepped out on the balcony and saw a large crowd around Adabor police station. They were shouting slogans and beating plastic water drums and barrels.

A large part of the police station is visible from our flat.

The mob was breaking the police station’s windowpanes. We could hear the crowd shout slogans.

Minutes later, several vehicles parked in the compound were up in flames. We could see them burning. The entire area was engulfed in smoke.

We rushed to lock the grille gate of our apartment. My husband propped up the dining table against our front door.

I don’t know if the gunshots were fired by the police or the mob. We were so scared that we turned off the lights in our flat. Our neighbours, too, did the same.

On Monday afternoon, I took part in a rally with neighbours outside our complex. Everyone was jubilant and several people were singing.

At night, things changed drastically. Now, we are apprehensive about our safety.

Most of Monday night and Tuesday morning were spent calling friends and family members to enquire about their safety.

I just want things to get back to normal so we can step out without worrying about our safety.