Protests sweep Bangladesh demanding justice for slain student leader Sharif Osman Hadi, with media offices attacked and UN calling for investigation.
DHAKA: Protesters rallied across Bangladesh for a second day demanding the arrest of the gunmen who killed a key figure from last year’s pro-democracy uprising.
Student leader Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, died in a Singapore hospital on Thursday after being shot by masked assailants outside a Dhaka mosque last week.
Crowds took to the streets in an outpouring of mourning and anger following news of his death.
Several buildings were vandalised, including the offices of media outlets perceived as favouring India, a key ally of Bangladesh’s ousted leadership.
Hadi was a staunch critic of India and a parliamentary candidate for the February 2026 national election.
UN rights chief Volker Turk called for a “prompt, impartial, thorough and transparent” investigation into the killing.
In Dhaka, protester Sajid Al Adeeb said people were demanding the swift arrest of Hadi’s killers.
The 20-year-old student claimed the killers were “currently in India”, a claim New Delhi has not commented on.
Protests were also held in the cities of Gazipur, Sylhet and Chattogram on Friday.
Hadi’s remains were brought to Dhaka on Friday evening ahead of his funeral.
The funeral prayer will be performed on Saturday in front of the parliament building.
His body will then be placed at Dhaka University’s central mosque for public mourning before burial.
Amir Hossain, Hadi’s brother-in-law, said the family wanted justice above all else.
“We don’t need anything except justice,” Hossain told AFP.
“The perpetrators must be punished.”
Security has been tightened in the capital ahead of the funeral, with strict restrictions on drones near parliament.
The US embassy in Dhaka urged its citizens to remain vigilant, warning peaceful gatherings could turn violent.
Late Thursday, people set fire to several buildings including the offices of leading newspapers Prothom Alo and the Daily Star.
Critics accuse the publications of favouring neighbouring India, where ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina has taken refuge.
Staff trapped in the Daily Star newsroom said the building filled with smoke during the attack.
“I can’t breathe anymore… You are killing me,” reporter Zyma Islam wrote on Facebook before firefighters rescued employees.
Prothom Alo executive editor Sajjad Sharif called it “an attack on freedom of the press, expression, dissent and diversity of opinion”.
The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, condemned the vandalism and spoke to the editors of both newspapers.
It urged citizens to resist mob violence by what it called “fringe elements”.
“This is a critical moment in our nation’s history when we are making a historic democratic transition,” a government statement said.
On Wednesday, protesters demanding Hasina’s return marched toward the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.
Hadi was a leader of the student protest group Inqilab Mancha.
Bangladeshi police said they had launched a manhunt for his killers. – AFP
