On the night Sheikh Hasina’s regime collapsed in Bangladesh after weeks of violence, Syed Bipro and his neighbours in the capital Dhaka decided to take matters into their own hands.
With the police in hiding amid widespread looting, vandalism and arson attacks, the residents used wooden poles to barricade entrances to Mohammadpur, their western neighbourhood, armed themselves with cricket bats and other makeshift weapons, and went on patrol.
“Dhaka has turned into Gotham,” said Bipro, 33, who with dozens from the area has stayed up every night since the government fell last Monday to search vehicles, question strangers and subdue suspected criminals.