Students and the public have held protests and blocked roads across the country, demanding justice and arrest of those responsible for the death of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi.
Hadi died on Thursday at around 9:45pm while receiving treatment in Singapore. As news of his death spread, students and the public burst into protests in the capital Dhaka and across the nation.
Dhaka
Students and the public gathered and protested at various areas in the capital, including Dhaka University and Shahbagh. The offices of the Daily Star and Prothom Alo were vandalised and torched by agitated mobs.
The Chhayanaut Shongshkriti Bhobon and Dhanmondi 32 also came under attack.
Protesters chanted slogans including “Delhi na Dhaka, Dhaka-Dhaka,” “Break and crush Indian aggression,” “Long live the revolution,” “We won’t let the martyr’s blood go in vain,” and “We will all become Hadi, speak in the face of bullets.”
Eyewitnesses reported that several thousand protesters immediately gathered at Shahbagh upon news of Hadi’s death and began demonstrations. The number of protesters there is steadily increasing, bringing vehicular movement in the Shahbagh area to a halt.
Gazipur
Students and the public in Gazipur held protest marches and blocked roads, demanding justice and the arrest of those responsible for the death of Sharif Osman Hadi.
On Thursday night, activists from various organisations, including students of DUET, blocked roads and protested at various points including Shib Bari and Tongi College Gate.
The Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET) campus became agitated upon news of Hadi’s death. Hundreds of students, under the initiative of Inqilab Mancha and other organisations, took to the streets in a protest march.
The march started from the DUET campus and ended at Shib Bari, where they blockaded the road and staged a sit-in.
Meanwhile, vehicular movement on the Dhaka-Shimultoli Road has been halted due to the blockade. Protesters at the time demanded the swift arrest of those responsible for Hadi’s death.
With the same demand, students and people from various professions blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway at the Tongi College Gate area, bringing traffic on the highway to a standstill and creating long tailbacks.
Lakshmipur
Lakshmipur became agitated upon news of the death of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Osman Hadi. Angry students and the public brought out a protest march from the Uttar Temuhani Traffic Square area of the district town around 11:30pm on Thursday.
After parading through important city streets, the march reconvened at the starting point.
The agitated crowd chanted various slogans protesting Hadi’s killing. Slogans like “Hadi Bhai’s blood will not go in vain; Indian collaborators, beware” heated up the streets.
Subsequently, speaking at the Uttar Temuhani Traffic Square, protesters condemned the killing of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Osman Hadi and demanded the immediate arrest and execution of the killer fascist Hasina and her accomplices.
Earlier, as news spread of Hadi’s death while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Singapore, students and the public in Lakshmipur became enraged.
Chattogram
Agitated protesters have set fire to the Chattogram residence of former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel following the death of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Osman Hadi.
The incident occurred at the house located in the Sholoshahar area of port city on Thursday night, soon after the news of Hadi’s death spread.
Eyewitnesses reported that an agitated mob gathered in front of the minister’s house at night. At one point, they attacked the residence and set it on fire. There have been reports are protests and blockades in multiple areas of the port city,
Jhalakathi
Activists from the NCP, civil rights groups, various political parties, and people from different professions set fire to and blocked a highway in protest.
The programme was underway on the Jhalakathi-Khulna national highway near College Moor in the district town from around 11:30pm on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a pall of gloom has descended over the entire district following news of his death. A stream of people from all walks of life is heading to Hadi’s home in the Khasmahal area of Nalchity upazila, his ancestral village.
Pirojpur
The Sorbo Dolio Chhatra Oikya Parishad brought out a protest march in Pirojpur.
Starting from the Sadhanar Pul area of the town around 11pm on Thursday, the march paraded through various city streets and concluded at the July Memorial adjacent to the local Shaheed Minar. A brief street meeting was held there.
Speakers at the meeting demanded the immediate identification and legal prosecution of all those involved in the killing.
Kishoreganj
A protest march began in front of the historic Shahidi Mosque in the town at around 10:45pm on Thursday. After parading through major streets, it staged a sit-in on the road in front of the Superintendent of Police’s office.
July fighters were blocking the road and protesting in front of the SP office until the filing of this report.
Earlier, at a brief rally, speakers said the death of Sharif Osman Hadi would remain a symbol of the ongoing movement against Indian hegemony. The nation will long remember this struggle and his sacrifice.
They further warned that the killers must be arrested swiftly and given exemplary punishment, failing which the interim government would have to pay a severe price.
Among those present at the protest march were young cleric Maulana KM Nazim Uddin, General Secretary of the Gono Odhikar Parishad Abhi Chowdhury, Organising Secretary of the district NCP committee Faisal Prince, and joint convener of Gurudayal Government College Chhatra Dal Sheikh Mudassir Tusi.
Natore
The Anti-Discrimination Students’ Movement held a protest march at midnight in Natore condemning the death of Osman Hadi.
Starting from the Madrasa Moor area of Natore town around 12am on Thursday night, the march paraded through the main streets of the town and concluded in front of the Natore Press Club, where a brief rally was held.
Speakers at the rally said the nation has lost a patriot. Hadi’s death is not an isolated incident. Since the fall of fascist forces in Bangladesh, attacks on revolutionaries have continued. The people of this country will not accept such events anymore. Bangladesh cannot be sold out to anyone. They demanded exemplary punishment for Osman Hadi’s killers.
Present at the time were student leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Students’ Movement, including Sheikh Obaidullah Mim, Fuad, Shishir, and Robin, along with other activists of the organisation.
Sharif Osman Hadi came into discussion for his active politics in defence of the rights of July martyrs, the movement against Awami League sanctions, and opposing Indian hegemony.
He was shot on 12 December after Jumma prayers in the Box Culvert area of Bijoynagar in Dhaka. He died on Thursday while undergoing treatment in Singapore.
