Massive protests broke out across Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, with thousands gathering at Shahbag following the death of political activist Sharif Osman Hadi, a polarising figure known for his strong anti-India rhetoric.
Chanting slogans and waving placards, protesters accused authorities of failing to protect Hadi, the spokesperson of the political platform Inquilab Mancha. The demonstrations soon escalated, with a group vandalising the office of Daily Prothom Alo, the country’s largest newspaper, amid heightened outrage. Local media reports that several people are stranded inside the building that houses the offices of Prothom Alo & Daily Star. Protesters first vandalised these offices and then set them ablaze.
Amid the unrest, interim government chief Muhammad Yunus appealed for calm, urging citizens not to take the law into their own hands. He announced a day of national mourning on Friday, with special prayers to be held at mosques across the country, and vowed that those involved in what he called the “heinous murder” would not be spared.
“Hadi was the enemy of the defeated fascist terrorist forces. We shall again defeat those who tried to silence his voice and instil fear among the revolutionaries,” Yunus said, describing Sharif Osman Hadi as a martyr.
The security situation across parts of Dhaka remained extremely volatile late into the night.
Local media reported that protesters staged a sit-in outside the Indian Assistant High Commission in Chattogram after news broke of the death of Sharif Osman bin Hadi.
The demonstrators gathered outside the mission’s Khulshi office around 11 pm on Thursday, prompting a swift police response. Protesters shouted slogans over Hadi’s killing, alongside chants against the Awami League and India, before police intervened to disperse the crowd.
Some protesters raised overtly anti-India and anti-Awami League slogans, including “Demolish Indian agression!” and “Catch and slaughter those who belong to the League (Awami League)”.
Bangladesh’s foreign office earlier confirmed that Hadi had died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Singapore. He had been in critical condition since December 12, when he was shot in the head by unidentified assailants while campaigning in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area. He was later airlifted to Singapore for advanced medical care but did not survive.
Sharif Osman Hadi came to prominence during the July Uprising and the campaign seeking a constitutional ban on the Awami League. Casting himself as a hardline opponent of pro-India politics, he also targeted the BNP, warning that a return to old-style politics would quickly collapse.
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