Indian visa centres in Bangladesh indefinitely shut due to 'unstable situation'

All Indian visa application centres in violence-hit Bangladesh will remain closed till further notice due to the "unstable situation" after massive protests forced Sheikh Hasina to resign as Prime Minister and flee to India earlier this week.

The Indian Visa Application Centre, on their website, informed applicants that the next date would be informed through SMS and that passports should be collected the next working day.

"All Indian visa application centres will remain closed till further notice, due to the unstable situation. The next application date will be informed through SMS and it is requested to pick up the passport on the next working day," the notice read.

The announcement came after India evacuated 190 non-essential staffers and their family members from the Indian High Commission in Dhaka following the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on Monday, sources said. However, all diplomats remain in Bangladesh and the missions are functional, sources said.

Apart from the High Commission in Dhaka, India has assistant high commissions or consulates in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet.

In June, protests, primarily led by students, began over a controversial job quota system that granted 30 per cent reservation for the families of veterans who fought in the Liberation War in 1971. Those protests, initially peaceful, turned violent after police cracked down on the protesters.

The demonstrations then led to a massive movement against the 15-year rule of Sheikh Hasina, demanding the resignation of the 76-year-old leader. Despite Sheikh Hasina resigning and leaving Bangladesh for India on Monday with his sister, unrest continues with hundreds of houses and businesses belonging to Hindus and temples being vandalised and looted.

On Thursday, an army-backed interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus is set to take oath amid violent protests. Yunus was chosen by students to head the interim government as its chief adviser.

Meanwhile, the Indian government is working on securing asylum for Sheikh Hasina in a European country, sources earlier told India Today TV.