After A 2024 Student Protest Leader Was Assassinated, People In Bangladesh Are Holding Huge Protests
Protests erupted across the country calling for justice for Sharif Osman Hadi.
Thousands of people in Bangladesh are holding mass protests after prominent 2024 student-led protest leader Sharif Osman Hadi succumbed to his injuries from an assassination attempt.
The 32-year-old acted as a spokesperson for Inquilab Mancha, or “Platform for Revolution” during the 2024 protest, which ultimately forced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to resign on Aug. 5, 2024, and flee to India.
The student protest was marred by violence after police started to violently crack down on protesters, with up to 1,400 people killed, according to the UN.
On Nov. 17, 2025, the country's international crimes court found Hasina guilty of incitement, orders to kill and inaction to prevent atrocities during the crackdown on the protests, sentencing her to death in absentia.
Hadi, who was an outspoken critic of India and its influence on domestic politics in Bangladesh, was running for a parliamentary seat in the country’s 2026 national election expected in February, according to Al Jazeera.
The last elections, held in January 2024, gave Hasina a fourth straight term and her Awami League 222 seats, but were decried by opposition parties as a sham, the Guardian reported.
On Dec. 12, two masked attackers on a motorcycle shot Hadi in the head as he was leaving a mosque in Dhaka, reportedly one day after the election date was announced.
He was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and then transferred to Singapore General Hospital on Dec. 15 for treatment as he suffered brain stem damage.
On Thursday, Dec. 18, Hadi succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
After Hadi's death was confirmed, people and politicians shared theories on the internet that the two attackers allegedly fled to India, fueling rumors that Indian authorities were involved in Hadi’s murder, according to Al Jazeera.
Protesters say India always meddles in Bangladesh’s affairs, particularly right before the elections, and that Hasina has been making provocative statements from India.
Protests and violence erupted on Thursday across the country, with protesters shouting Hadi’s name and anti-India slogans.
In addition, people in Dhaka set fire to the offices of two of the largest newspapers in the country, Prothom Alo and the Daily Star, which protesters accused of being aligned with India.
The UN human rights chief Volker Türk urged calm and called for an impartial investigation into Hadi’s assassination.
Bangladesh’s police and counterterrorism unit launched a hunt for the attackers who shot Hadi and offered a reward of about US$42,000 for information leading to their arrest.
Hadi's body returned to Dhaka on Friday, Dec. 19, followed by a massive funeral on Saturday, Dec. 20, which was declared as a national day of mourning by interim prime minister Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus
Yunus said Hadi’s “demise is an irreparable loss for the nation,” adding that “he country’s march toward democracy cannot be halted through fear, terror or bloodshed.”
Cherry Mohamed
Isha Jain
