Thousands mourn slain student leader in Bangladesh

Huge crowds gathered in Bangladesh’s capital on Saturday for the funeral of a slain student leader, held under tight security after two days of protests and violence.

Tens of thousands of people joined the funeral procession to pay their respects to Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in last year’s pro-democracy uprising to contest February’s general election.

He was shot by masked gunmen last week while leaving a mosque in Dhaka and died in a Singapore hospital on Thursday.

“You are in our hearts and will remain in the hearts of all Bangladeshis as long as the country exists,” transitional leader Muhammad Yunus said in an emotional speech outside the parliament building, where the funerals were held.

Police wearing body cameras were deployed to the area and flags were flown at half-mast to mark the day of mourning.

Afterwards, Hadi’s body was buried in the main mosque of Dhaka University.

Hadi, 32, has been an outspoken critic of India, where ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken refuge since fleeing Dhaka after the 2024 uprising.
Iqbal Hossain Saikot, a government official who traveled to the capital to attend the funeral, told AFP he believed Hadi was killed because of his staunch opposition to India.

“The millions of people of Bangladesh who love the land and its sovereign territory” will carry on Hadi’s legacy, said Saikot, 34.

Hadi’s death has sparked unrest, with protesters across the South Asian nation demanding the arrest of those responsible.

Bangladeshi police said they had launched a manhunt for his killers, but have yet to report any progress.

As news of Hadi’s death spread on Thursday, people set fire to several buildings in Dhaka, including the offices of leading newspapers Prothom Alo and the Daily Star, which critics accuse of being pro-India.

Anarchy

Cultural institutions and the residence of a former minister were also attacked by angry mobs.

Fueled in part by rising anti-India sentiment in the Muslim-majority nation, the violence this week also killed a Hindu garment worker following allegations of blasphemy.

Yunus said seven suspects were arrested in connection with the killing of the labourer, Dipu Chandra Das, in the central district of Mymensingh on Thursday.

Rights group Amnesty International on Saturday expressed concern over the “lynching” of Das, while urging Bangladesh’s interim government to conduct “immediate, thorough, independent and impartial” investigations into Hadi’s killing and the violence that followed.

Political parties across the spectrum condemned the violence and expressed concern about public order and security during the election – the first polls in Bangladesh since the ouster of Hasina’s authoritarian government.