Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in last year’s violent protests that ousted the government in Dhaka, was shot earlier this month
Violent protests erupted in Bangladesh overnight after a leader of 2024 uprising was shot earlier this month died. Sharif Osman Hadi, who was shot by masked assailants in Dhaka last week, died on Thursday while being treated in Singapore, authorities announced.
Protesters took to the streets demanding the arrest of assailants, and the offices of prominent Bangladeshi newspapers The Daily Star and Prothom Alo were vandalised, local media reported.
“As the office of Prothom Alo was subjected to massive attacks, vandalism and arson last night, it was not possible to continue its normal operations. Therefore, the printed version of Prothom Alo could not be published today. Its online portal is also temporarily closed,” the media outlet said in a statement.
Hadi was shot while leaving a mosque in the capital Dhaka, a day after Bangladesh’s top election official announced the date of the first elections in the country after an uprising in 2024.
The Sheikh Hasina government was ousted in the protests in Bangladesh then.
Hadi, spokesperson for Inquilab Mancha, or Platform for Revolution, which describes itself as a “revolutionary cultural platform inspired by the spirit of uprising,” was a key figure in the 2024 protests. He was planning to contest in the general elections to be held in the country on February 12.
The developments also come two days after New Delhi summoned Dhaka’s envoy to convey concerns over the “deteriorating security environment in Bangladesh.”
New Delhi had said it expects Dhaka to ensure the safety of its diplomatic missions and posts in Bangladesh.
Earlier this month, Bangladesh had alleged that Hasina has been allowed to make “incendiary” statements from Indian soil, a charge New Delhi has denied.
Dhaka has demanded the extradition of Hasina from India after a court handed a death sentence against her for crimes against humanity linked to the violent crackdown on protesters in the 2024 uprising.
The former prime minister has alleged that the sentence was politically motivated.
Hasina’s Awami League, which had been in power for 15 years before the uprising, has been barred from participating in the polls.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohammad Yunus is serving as the chief adviser of the interim Bangladesh government currently running the country.
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