Unrest Erupts in Bangladesh After Killing of Student Leader Sharif Hadi

Unrest has taken over Bangladesh following the outrage caused by the death of Sharif Osman Hadi. Hadi, a prominent leader of the July Uprising who was shot last week, died while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital after fighting for his life for six days.

Late on Thursday, Hadi, who was also running in the general elections on February 12, passed away. Last week, as he began his election campaign in the Bijoynagar neighbourhood of central Dhaka, he was wounded in the head by masked gunmen.

Doctors in Dhaka assessed Hadi's health as "extremely critical," so Muhammad Yunus' temporary administration dispatched him to Singapore in an air ambulance on Monday for specialised treatment.

In a televised address to the nation late Thursday night, Chief Adviser Yunus announced Hadi's death and promised swift action to catch his killers.

"Today, I came before you with very heartbreaking news. Sharif Osman Hadi, the fearless frontline fighter of the July Uprising and spokesperson of the Inqilab Mancha, is no more among us," Yunus said.

He vowed to bring those involved in this brutal murder to justice quickly, saying, “No leniency will be shown" to the killers.

“I sincerely call upon all citizens – keep your patience and restraint,” he said.

"Let law enforcement agencies and other relevant organisations have the opportunity to carry out investigations with professionalism," he said, adding that the state is fully committed to establishing the rule of law.

Following the news of Hadi's passing, hundreds of citizens and students gathered at the capital's Shahbagh intersection, which is close to the Dhaka University campus. They sang "Who are you, who am I – Hadi, Hadi" as they assembled.

On the campus of Dhaka University, a student organisation known as Jatiya Chhatra Shakti organised a mourning procession and marched to Shahbagh to participate in the protest.

They were joined by the National Citizens Party (NCP), a major branch of Students Against Discrimination (SAD), which spearheaded the violent demonstration last year. The NCP chanted anti-Indian slogans, claiming that Hadi's attackers fled to India after the murder. They demanded that the Indian High Commission be shut down by the interim administration until they were brought back.

 “The interim government, until India returns assassins of Hadi Bhai, the Indian High Commission to Bangladesh will remain closed. Now or Never. We are in a war!,” said Sarjis Alm, a key leader of NCP.

The Chhatra Shakti burnt an effigy of the home adviser, demanding his resignation for failure to arrest Hadi’s killers.

In the capital's Karwan Bazar, close to the Shahbagh crossroads, a group of people believed to be protesters stormed the offices of the Bangla newspaper Prothom Alo and the local Daily Star.

According to reports, the crowd started a fire in front of the building and vandalised many floors as journalists and newspaper employees were confined inside.

"Several hundred demonstrators reached the Prothom Alo office around 11 pm and later surrounded the building,” a witness said, adding the protesters then set the Daily Star office on fire following the vandalism of a Prothom Alo building.

It remained unclear why both newspapers, known for their passive support for Yunus and his interim government, came under attack.

Amid the chaos, Daily Star reporter Zyma Islam said she was trapped inside the burning building. Posting on Facebook, she wrote: "I can't breathe anymore. There's too much smoke. I am inside. You are killing me."

This came after multiple incidents of arson were reported in Dhaka early Friday after news of Osman Hadi’s death spread, according to a spokesperson for the Fire Brigade and Civil Defence, quoted by news agency AFP. Among the fires were one at the building housing Daily Star and another at premises where Prothom Alo operates.

The two newspapers, among the largest in Bangladesh, were targeted after protesters accused them of being aligned with neighbouring India, where former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has taken refuge.

The social media platforms showed a group of demonstrators also headed towards 32 Dhanmandi, the home of Bangladesh’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, regarded as the centre point of Bangladesh’s pre-independence struggle for autonomy for decades.

The house, which was turned into a memorial museum under a trust, was largely demolished with excavators on February 5 this year, while it was set on fire soon after the August 5, 2024, fall of the then Awami League government.

The demonstrators also set on fire the house of former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel in the northeastern port city of Chattagram, while reports of such attacks came from other parts of the country.

In his address, the chief adviser called Hadi an “enemy to the defeated forces and fascist terrorists", in an apparent reference to deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s now disbanded Awami League.

“Their evil efforts to frighten the revolutionaries will be completely thwarted,” he added.

Yunus said Hadi's death has caused an irreparable loss to the country’s political and democratic sphere.

“I pray for the eternal peace of his departed soul and convey my deepest sympathy to his bereaved wife, family members, relatives and colleagues,” he said. 

He also said that the government will take responsibility for the wife and only child of Hadi, who was a frontline leader of last year’s protests that toppled Hasina’s government on August 5, 2024.

 The chief adviser declared a one-day state mourning on Saturday, saying the national flag will be hoisted at half-mast in all government, semi-government, autonomous offices, educational institutions, government and private buildings, and Bangladesh missions abroad.

He said special prayers seeking forgiveness for Hadi’s soul will be organised in every mosque across the country after Friday prayers.

"No one can stop the democratic progress of this country through threat, terrorist activities or bloodshed," he said, adding that the responsibility of realising Hadi's dream lies on the shoulders of the entire nation.

"Let us be patient, not listen to propaganda and rumours, and refrain from any rash decisions," Yunus said and urged his countrymen to remain united.

Hadi’s death came hours after his family consented to a surgery to be performed in Singapore as a last-ditch effort to save his life.

The Mancha earlier warned it would stage a sit-in protest at Shahbagh intersection until the attackers were arrested.

"If the killer flees to India, they must be arrested and brought back at any cost through discussions with the Indian government," it said.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its rival Jamaat-e-Islami too mourned Hadi's death.

BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman expressed deep sorrow over the killing of Hadi, mentioning his untimely demise as "a grave reminder of the human cost of political violence," The Daily Star reported.

"Together, we must safeguard every citizen and prevent any such incident aiming to destabilise Bangladesh and undermine our democratic aspirations," Tarique said in a social media post.

Hadi's body will be sent home on Friday, according to Inquiab Mancha Mohammad Abdul Ahad.

The home adviser had earlier declared a Taka 50 lakh reward for information that would help apprehend Hadi's alleged attackers.

The parents, wife, and female acquaintance of the main suspect, Foysal Karim Masud, have been taken into custody by the police.

Who was Sharif Osman Hadi?

Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, was a candidate in Bangladesh’s 2026 elections, scheduled for February. He was a member of the anti-Hasina platform Inqilab Manch. The elections will be the first parliamentary polls since a the ousting of Bangladesh’s ex PM Sheikh Hasina last year due to a student led protest.

While Sharif Osman Hadi’s campaign as an Independent artist was on full swing, when he was shot on head on December 12, while travelling in a battery-powered auto-rickshaw on Culvert Road in the Paltan area near the mosque in the capital-city of Dhaka. He was taken from Bangladesh to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit for treatment but he succumbed to his injuries on December 18.