Protests over the killing of a prominent Bangladeshi political activist entered a second day on Friday, as demonstrators blocked roads and set fire to several buildings — including two newspaper offices — in the capital, Dhaka.
Sharif Osman Hadi, a young politician who rose to prominence as one of the most influential leaders of the movement in 2024 that ended former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s 16-year rule, was shot in the head in Dhaka on December 12. He succumbed to his injuries on December 18 in Singapore, where he was flown for treatment.
A court on Thursday placed two men, Sibion Diu and Sanjay Chisim, on a three-day remand over allegations that they helped prime suspect Faisal Karim Masud escape to India, according to The Daily Star.
Bangladeshi officials say that the suspect crossed into India via the Haluaghat border in the Mymensingh district after shooting Hadi in a rickshaw.
The officer said further questioning was necessary to determine who planned and directed the border escape, identify others involved in orchestrating the attack, including financiers and facilitators.
India’s alleged involvement fuels public anger
Activists allied with Hadi alleged that the shooter was a supporter of Hasina’s Awami League and had backing from India, an accusation that has further fueled public anger.
A Bangladeshi court has sentenced Hasina to death in a case about crimes against humanity.
Hadi was the convenor of the student-led organisation Inqilab Moncho, which blames India for his killing.
“Allah has accepted the great revolutionary Osman Hadi as a martyr in the struggle against Indian hegemony,” it said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
Hadi was reportedly planning to take part in the parliamentary elections on February 12.
A protest was reported on Thursday outside the Indian Assistant High Commission in the port city of Chittagong.
Videos circulating on social media from different parts of the country showed protesters marching through streets, chanting slogans against India, and calling on New Delhi to hand over Hadi’s alleged killer.
Bangladeshi police have recovered the weapons used in the assassination, which reportedly took months to plan and execute.
Bangladesh’s interim government leader Muhammad Yunus declared a state of mourning on Saturday following Hadi's death, urging people to be calm and maintain peace.
However, protesters vandalised both the Bengali-language national daily Prothom Alo and the English-language newspaper The Daily Star.
Yunus spoke to newspaper editors, describing the incidents as an "attack on the free press."
He called on all citizens to "resist all forms of mob violence committed by a few fringe elements."
His office issued a statement saying: "We strongly and unequivocally condemn all acts of violence, intimidation, arson, and property destruction."
