Several buildings in the capital, including those housing the country’s two leading newspapers, were set on fire, according to authorities, with staff trapped inside.
DHAKA — Violence erupted in Bangladesh’s capital early on Friday after Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in last year’s pro-democracy uprising, died in a hospital in Singapore following an assassination attempt.
Thousands of protesters poured onto the streets of Dhaka after news of the 32-year-old activist’s death, demanding the arrest of his killers. Several buildings, including offices housing the country’s two leading newspapers, were set on fire, trapping journalists and staff inside, authorities said.
Hadi, a senior leader of the student protest group Inqilab Mancha, was shot by masked assailants on December 12 as he was leaving a mosque in Dhaka. After initial treatment in Bangladesh, he was airlifted to Singapore in critical condition, where he died on Thursday.
At least three cases of arson were reported across the capital as news of his death spread, a spokesperson for the Fire Brigade and Civil Defence said. Fires broke out at buildings housing the English-language Daily Star and the Bengali-language Prothom Alo, the country’s largest newspapers.
The papers have previously faced protests from groups accusing them of being aligned with neighbouring India, where former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been living in self-imposed exile since being ousted in last year’s uprising.
Zyma Islam, a Daily Star reporter, said she was trapped inside the burning building. “I can’t breathe anymore. There’s too much smoke. I am inside. You are killing me,” she wrote on Facebook.
Firefighters brought the blaze at the Daily Star building under control at around 1:40 am (1940 GMT Thursday), officials said, though dozens of employees were still inside at the time. Staff were later evacuated.
“We took refuge at the rear of the building and could hear them chanting slogans,” Daily Star reporter Ahmed Deepto said.
Protesters also attacked Chhayanaut, a leading cultural institution in Dhaka devoted to Bengali culture, while elsewhere crowds blocked a key highway out of the capital. In the southeastern port city of Chittagong, demonstrators attacked the residence of a former minister, according to local television footage.
Hundreds of protesters surrounded the residence of India’s deputy ambassador to Bangladesh in Dhaka, attempting to stage a sit-in, before police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, local media reported.
Witnesses said demonstrators gathered at Shahbagh Square near Dhaka University, chanting slogans including “Allahu Akbar”, with similar protests reported in other parts of the country.
Yunus announces mourning
Earlier Friday, Singapore’s foreign ministry confirmed Hadi’s death.
“Despite the best efforts of the doctors…, Mr Hadi succumbed to his injuries,” it said in a statement, adding that it was assisting Bangladeshi authorities with repatriating his body.
Bangladesh’s interim government, headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, confirmed the death shortly afterwards. “His demise is an irreparable loss for the nation,” Yunus said in a televised address.
“The country’s march toward democracy cannot be halted through fear, terror, or bloodshed.”
The government announced special prayers at mosques on Friday and declared a half-day of mourning on Saturday. Authorities said Hadi’s body was expected to arrive in Dhaka later on Friday.
Hadi was an outspoken critic of both Hasina and India. He had planned to run as an independent candidate in the next national elections, scheduled for February 2026, in a major Dhaka constituency.
Manhunt for gunmen
Police have launched a manhunt for Hadi’s attackers, releasing photographs of two suspects and offering a reward of five million taka (about $42,000) for information leading to their arrest.
Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner leading the interim administration until elections, has described the shooting as a premeditated attack carried out by a powerful network seeking to derail the vote.
Authorities have said they believe the shooter may have fled to India, comments that triggered a diplomatic row. New Delhi summoned Bangladesh’s envoy this week to protest the remarks, while Dhaka also called in India’s ambassador seeking clarification.
Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of about 170 million people, will elect 300 lawmakers directly, with another 50 chosen from a women’s list. The last elections, held in January 2024, handed Hasina’s Awami League a fourth consecutive term, but were widely dismissed by opposition parties as a sham.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia, is widely expected to perform strongly in the upcoming vote. Zia is currently in intensive care in Dhaka, while her son and political heir, Tarique Rahman, is due to return from exile in Britain on December 25 after 17 years.
Human rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have recently raised concerns over rights violations in Bangladesh, which has a long history of political violence. — Agencies
