Bangladesh rocked by unrest after death of student leader

Police and paramilitary troops fanned out across Dhaka and other cities in Bangladesh on Friday after violent protests overnight over the death of a popular youth leader, with concerns of further unrest ahead of national elections in which he was due to run.

Streets were calm in the morning, but residents in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation said they were worried there could be fresh violence after Friday prayers later in the day.

Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, was a spokesperson for the Inquilab Mancha, or Platform for Revolution, and participated in the student-led protests that overthrew the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last year. He was shot in the head by masked assailants in Dhaka last Friday while launching his campaign for the elections.

Hadi was initially treated at a local hospital before being flown to Singapore for advanced medical care, where he died after spending six days on life support.

Hadi was an outspoken critic of India, and Inquilab Mancha describes itself on its website as a “revolutionary cultural platform inspired by the spirit of uprising.”

In Dhaka, videos circulating on social media showed mobs vandalizing the offices of the country’s largest daily newspaper, Prothom Alo, as well as the Daily Star, on Thursday night.

The demonstrations were marked by emotionally charged slogans invoking Hadi’s name, with protesters vowing to continue their movement and demanding swift justice. Several areas remained tense, with additional police and paramilitary forces deployed to prevent further violence.

The fire service said the blaze at the Daily Star was under control. Troops were deployed to the scene, and firefighters rescued journalists trapped inside the building.

PRESSURE ON THE GOVERNMENT

Bangladesh has been governed by an interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus since August 2024, after Hasina fled to India following a student-led uprising.

The government has been grappling with fresh protests over delayed reforms, and warnings of unrest by Hasina's party, the Awami League, which has been barred from the vote. The elections are scheduled for February 12.

In a televised address to the nation following Hadi’s death, Yunus said: "His passing represents an irreplaceable loss to the nation's political and democratic sphere."

Urging citizens to remain calm, Yunus said the government was committed to ensuring a transparent investigation and bringing all those responsible to justice. He also appealed for restraint, warning that violence would only undermine the country’s path toward a credible election.

The interim administration has declared Saturday a day of state mourning in honour of Hadi, with national flags to be flown at half-mast and special prayers planned across the country.

The home of the country’s first president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of Hasina, was vandalised and set on fire once again, after having been attacked twice previously in February and August last year.

New Age editor Nurul Kabir, who also heads the country's Editors’ Council, was harassed by protesters outside The Daily Star building on Thursday night as they vandalized the premises, with videos showing him pushed into a crowd, verbally abused as an “Awami League collaborator,” and having his hair pulled.

In Dhaka, the premises of the prominent Bengali cultural organisation Chhayanaut were vandalised and torched. In the northwestern district of Rajshahi, protesters demolished an Awami League party office using a bulldozer, while demonstrators blocked major highways in several other districts.

Violence was also reported in a number of cities across Bangladesh, including the port city of Chittagong, where protesters attacked the Indian Assistant High Commission and set fire to a house belonging to a former Awami League education minister.

The unrest follows fresh anti-India protests earlier in the week, with ties between the neighbours deteriorating since Hasina fled to Delhi. On Wednesday, hundreds of demonstrators under the banner “July Oikya” (July Unity) marched toward the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, chanting anti-India slogans, while also demanding the return of Hasina. 

Reuters staff