Days after Bangladeshi student leader Sharif Osman Hadi died from a gunshot wound, his family has made explosive allegations against the country’s interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, claiming the killing was orchestrated to derail the upcoming national elections scheduled for February.
Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inquilab Moncho a cultural platform that emerged from the July 2024 uprising which led to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was shot at close range in Dhaka on December 12. He was later airlifted to Singapore for advanced treatment but succumbed to his injuries on December 18. His death has triggered widespread protests across Bangladesh, with angry mobs attacking offices of newspapers and cultural organisations.
At a protest gathering in Shahbagh, Dhaka, Osman’s brother, Sharif Omar Hadi, directly accused a section within the Yunus-led interim government of being responsible for the assassination. “You had Osman Hadi killed, and now you are trying to use this incident to disrupt the election,” Omar alleged, demanding accountability and justice.
He said his brother was a strong supporter of holding free and fair national elections by February and had refused to bow to any agency or “foreign masters.” Omar warned the government that failure to ensure a speedy and transparent trial would further destabilise the country. “If justice is not delivered, those in power today may also be forced to flee Bangladesh one day,” he said, in an apparent reference to Sheikh Hasina’s departure to India after last year’s protests.
According to a report by The Daily Star, Inquilab Moncho leaders described the killing as part of a “deep conspiracy” involving international intelligence agencies and internal “fascist elements” aimed at undermining the gains of the July uprising and Bangladesh’s sovereignty.
Protesters have vowed to continue demonstrations until the killers are brought to justice. Inquilab Moncho also announced it would suspend programmes on December 25, the day BNP leader Tarique Rahman is set to return to Bangladesh, expressing hope that he would support their demand for justice.
