The ancestral home of former Bangladesh cricket captain and ex-Awami League MP Shakib Al Hasan came under a petrol bomb attack in Magura on Wednesday night, hours after he joined former prime minister Sheikh Hasina virtually at a press conference in New Delhi.According to reports, the attack occurred around 8.45 pm local time at Shakib’s residence in the Keshabmor area of Magura town. The house was also vandalised.Shakib had earlier appeared virtually alongside Hasina during a press conference held at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in New Delhi, an event that had already drawn objections from Bangladesh.Following the attack, the Awami League claimed it was a consequence of Shakib’s participation in the event.“Torching residences: the cost of attending Awami League press conference. Neo fascism engulfs Bangladesh,” the party said in a statement.The party further alleged that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP) had threatened media organisations with legal action if they covered the press conference. It also described the attack as part of what it called a wider campaign targeting Awami League leaders and supporters.Addressing the media virtually, Hasina said she intended to return to Bangladesh in December despite the possibility of arrest or even death.“My return is not about power, it’s about putting Bangladesh back on track of development, secularism and prosperity,” she said.The 78-year-old former prime minister said she was prepared to face the consequences of returning to her country.“I know they may put me in jail or kill me. I will go back home to be with my people. I have decided to go and I will go to Bangladesh,” she said.Hasina has been living in India since August 5, 2024, after leaving Dhaka following the fall of her government amid months of anti-government protests.Last November, a special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced her to death in absentia over alleged crimes against humanity linked to the government’s crackdown on the 2024 student-led protests. Bangladesh has since repeatedly requested her extradition from India.The press conference was attended virtually by Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and several senior Awami League leaders, including former Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel.