Bangladesh interim government on Friday urged citizens to resist violence by “a few fringe elements” as the body of a prominent July Uprising leader, who died in Singapore six days after he was shot, reached the capital.
Various parts of the country were rocked Thursday night by attacks and vandalism, including stone-hurling at the Assistant Indian High Commissioner’s residence in Chattogram, after Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus confirmed Sharif Osman Hadi’s death in a televised address to the nation. There were, however, no reports of fresh violence since Friday morning.
Hadi, one of the leaders who had taken part in the student-led protests last year – termed as July Uprising – and a candidate for the scheduled February 12 general elections, died while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital six days after he was shot by unidentified men.
Body of Hadi, who was the spokesperson of the Inqilab Mancha, arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at around 6 pm on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, amid tight security and widespread public mourning, state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) said quoting Biman General Manager (Public Relations) Boshra Islam. Members of the Bangladesh Army, Armed Forces Battalion (AFB) and police were deployed in large numbers to maintain security when Hadi’s body was taken out of the airport, it added.
Hadi’s passing away at the Singapore General Hospital triggered widespread mourning across political circles, activists of Inqilab Mancha and the general public, BSS said. Yunus has declared a one-day state mourning on Saturday following Hadi’s death. Earlier on Thursday, soon after Yunus’ announcement, protesters took to the streets and attacked offices of leading newspapers, vandalised 32 Dhanmandi with hammers, and also demolished an office of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s disbanded Awami League party in Rajshahi city.
Regarded as the centre point of Bangladesh’s pre-independence struggle for autonomy for decades, 32 Dhanmandi was largely demolished with excavators on February 5 this year. It was also set on fire soon after the August 5, 2024 fall of the then Awami League government and Hasina fleeing to India. Protesters also hurled bricks and stones at the residence of the Assistant Indian High Commissioner in Chattogram at 1:30 am, but failed to cause any damage. Police responded with tear gas and baton charges, dispersing the crowd and detaining 12 protesters. A few injuries were also reported.
Senior officials assured the assistant high commissioner of enhanced security.
In Dhaka, protesters attacked the office of a leading cultural group, Chhayanaut, and brought out the furniture, setting it on fire. Sporadic violence was also reported from other parts of the country overnight.
Meanwhile, after the flight from Singapore landed in Dhaka, local media reports and videos shared on social media showed Hadi’s followers lining up on both sides of the road from the airport to Shahbagh to receive him before his coffin was brought to the Dhaka University Central Mosque for a public meeting.
In a Facebook post, Inqilab Mancha announced that a janaza will be held in Bangladesh on Saturday after Zuhr prayers (afternoon) at Manik Mia Avenue in the capital. Hadi was shot in the head last week by masked gunmen as he initiated his election campaign at central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area. He died while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital after fighting for his life for six days.
BNP condemns attack on media houses
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Friday strongly condemned the attacks on media houses and journalists, including The Daily Star, Prothom Alo, New Age Editor Nurul Kabir and other media professionals, calling the perpetrators “enemies of Bangladesh”. The remarks were made by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir following reports that several media outlets and journalists were targeted in arson attacks after the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of the radical group Inqilab Mancha. In a statement on his social media platform, Fakhrul said that while the nation was grieving over Hadi’s death, “shameful attacks” were carried out on media organisations, including The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, as well as on journalist Nurul Kabir and several others.
Ready to act: Tripura CM
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday said his government is ready to deal with any situation in the wake of violent protests in neighbouring Bangladesh.
“All of us know under what circumstances, elected Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had to leave her country. After Hasina’s ouster, fundamentalists, criminals and thieves walked free from jails in Bangladesh. What we had anticipated is now happening in the neighbouring,” the chief minister told the reporters. Since the matter is an international issue, the state government is sending updates to Delhi, he said.
“Nowadays, war is not fought physically, and it is based on technology. We are ready to deal with any situation,” the CM said when asked about the Bangladesh situation.