Inqilab Moncho held protest programmes in Dhaka and Chittagong on Friday demanding justice for the killing of its spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi.
The organisation started an indefinite blockade at Shahbagh intersection in the capital, demanding a fair trial for the killing of Hadi, reports our DU Correspondent.
Demanding that Shahbagh intersection be renamed “Shaheed Osman Hadi Square,” the organization leaders said they will continue the blockade programme at the intersection until justice is ensured.
After the Jummah prayers, leaders and activists of Inqilab Mancha brought out a procession from the Dhaka University Central Jame Mosque. After marching through various campus roads, they took position at the Shahbagh intersection, bringing traffic to a halt. However, traffic on adjoining roads remained somewhat normal as adjacent lanes were kept open.
Addressing the rally, Inqilab Moncho Member Secretary Abdullah Al Jaber said, “From today, this Shahbagh will be called ‘Shaheed Osman Hadi Square.’ We are taking an oath that we will not leave the streets until the killers are arrested and brought to justice.”
He also announced the continuation of a struggle against what he termed “cultural domination,” taking Osman Hadi as its symbol.
Speaking at the rally, Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu) Liberation War and Democratic Movements Affairs Secretary Fatima Tasnim Juma said that if the government fails to ensure even minimum justice, it has no right to remain in power.
Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union (RUCSU) General Secretary Salauddin Ammar said silencing Hadi means awakening thousands of Hadis.
Shot by an assailant on Box Culvert Road in Bijoynagar, Dhaka on 12 December, Sharif Osman Hadi, died on the night of 18 December while undergoing treatment in Singapore.
His body was brought to Bangladesh the next day. On 20 December, he was laid to rest on the premises of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam’s mausoleum at the University of Dhaka.
Earlier, on Tuesday, Inqilab Moncho demanded that the trial for Osman Hadi’s killing be completed within 30 working days.
Protest at Baitul Mukarram demanding release of Islamic scholars and justice for Hadi’s killing
Separately, the Ulama Janata Oikya Parishad and the Islami Oikya Andolon held a rally at the south gate of the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in the capital, protesting the arrest of Islamic scholars, and the failure to arrest those responsible for Sharif Osman Hadi’s killing.
At the rally, held after Jummah prayers, speakers said the failure to arrest the main perpetrators in the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi is a clear evidence of the government’s incompetence. They also alleged that several Islamic scholars, including Ataur Rahman Bikrampuri, had been arrested in “false and politically motivated cases,” and demanded their immediate and unconditional release.
Speakers accused some mainstream media outlets of supporting “authoritarian rule” and “portraying religious scholars negatively”.
Inqilab Moncho on Friday organized a protest march and rally in Chattogram demanding justice for the killing of its spokesperson, Sharif Osman Hadi.
After the Jummah prayers, the protest march began from the premises of Anderkilla Mosque under the banner of Inqilab Moncho.
The march proceeded through the city’s main roads and concluded in front of the Press Club in Jamal Khan area. A protest rally was then held there. During the demonstration, protesters raised slogans such as: “Why was brother Hadi killed? Interim government, answer”; and “People, resist Indian aggression.”
At the rally, July Unity organizer Abrar Hasan Riyad said Hadi is a source of inspiration in the struggle for freedom and Bangladesh would not be allowed to become anyone’s vassal state.
He said the main accused in Hadi murder has not been arrested even after three weeks, which shows utter failure of the interim government.
Inqilab Moncho Chattogram University Convener Rafsan Rakib said Hadi’s ideology is not tied to any political party.
Participants at the rally vowed to keep alive and elevate the monument of inspiration that Hadi ‘built through labour and blood’.
