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Published : 20 Dec 2025, 02:31 AM
As the coffin carrying Sharif Osman bin Hadi was wheeled towards the morgue of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, the heat of protest surged repeatedly outside the main gate.
Emerging slowly from the airport, the ambulance edged through an ocean of people, inching its way towards the hospital freezer as slogans rose and fell in waves demanding justice for the slain Inqilab Moncho convenor
The march surrounding the ambulance was only a fragment of a day-long outpouring of anger and grief on Friday that had spilt onto the streets in protest.
The fury that erupted on Thursday night after news arrived from Singapore that the Inqilab Moncho convenor had died did not subside on Friday. Attacks, vandalism and arson continued, even as protesters flooded many roads and neighbourhoods in the capital following Friday prayers. Shahbagh remained tense and volatile throughout the day.
The aftermath of attacks on two newspaper offices and the Chhayanaut building lingered into the public holiday. Amid condemnation of the assaults and renewed promises by the government to act firmly against violence, a human chain in front of the Prothom Alo office was disrupted.
Amid heated arguments, journalists were forced to suspend the programme midway.
Around midday, more vandalism was reported at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s house at Dhanmondi 32 -- a structure already in tatters from earlier attacks.
Although no new incidents of vandalism were reported in the capital for much of the day, fresh reports of fire emerged in the evening. Within half an hour, everything inside the Udichi Shilpigosthi office was reduced to ashes.
It was only after 9:30pm, when organisers wrapped up the day’s “anti-aggression rally” at Shahbagh—around two hours after Hadi’s body reached the morgue—that the intensity of anger and protest began to ease.
Earlier, the shock of Hadi’s death had reverberated across the country. One district after another was shaken by protest marches. Alongside rallies demanding justice, there were attacks and vandalism at Awami League offices and at the homes of party leaders. In several districts, demonstrators blocked roads, demanding the arrest and punishment of Hadi’s killers.
In some areas, people also organised absentee funeral prayers and special prayers for Hadi.
RETURN IN REPOSE
The 32-year-old election hopeful for Dhaka-8 had been attacked while campaigning on Dec 12. Shot in the head, he was flown three days later, on Monday, to Singapore General Hospital by air ambulance in critical condition. Despite treatment, he could not be saved. News of his death came around 10pm on Thursday.
On Friday evening at 5:45pm, a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight carrying his body landed at Shahjalal International Airport.
Hadi’s elder brother Abu Bakar returned from Singapore with the body. At the airport, his coffin -- wrapped in the national shroud -- was received by his sister and brother-in-law Amirul Islam, and Inqilab Moncho Member Secretary Abdullah Al Jaber.
Also present were Industries Advisor Adilur Rahman, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar, Amar Desh Editor Mahmudur Rahman, National Citizen Party Member Secretary Akhter Hossen and Chief Organiser (South) Hasnat Abdullah, as well as DUCSU Vice-President Shadik Kayem.
As the hearse carrying Hadi’s coffin emerged through hangar Gate No. 8 at the airport, a large crowd had gathered to pay their respects.
FUNERAL NEAR PARLIAMENT, BURIAL BESIDE NAZRUL
In a Facebook post, Inqilab Moncho said, in line with the family’s wishes, it had been decided that Hadi, a frontline leader of the July Uprising protests, would be laid to rest beside national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
Before that, a funeral prayer is scheduled for 2pm on Manik Mia Avenue, in front of parliament, after which the body will be taken to the Dhaka University campus.
A week after he was shot during election campaigning, and following confirmation of his death in Singapore on Thursday, Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus announced a day of state mourning in a televised address to the nation.
WHAT UNFOLDED THROUGH THE DAY
Protests began at Shahbagh around 10:30pm on Thursday, shortly after news of Hadi’s death reached Bangladesh. Activists and supporters of the July Moncho staged a sit-in demanding justice.
Students from different Dhaka University halls marched to the area and began protesting outside the TSC under the banner of anti-hegemonic students. Reports of protests, roadblocks and vandalism poured in from across the country.
Amid these demonstrations, attacks, arson and vandalism were carried out shortly after midnight on Thursday at the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, as well as at the Chhayanaut building in Dhanmondi.
In protest against the attack on the newspaper offices, a demonstration was called in front of Prothom Alo on Friday afternoon. The human chain was staged at 4pm outside the paper’s Karwan Bazar office but was called off within minutes due to disruptions.
Prothom Alo said it believed a group with vested interests had deliberately targeted its office and that of The Daily Star. The Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) condemned the attacks and arson, calling for a “swift and thorough investigation”. In a joint statement issued on Friday, it said such violence and intimidation were unacceptable and constituted an assault on media freedom and the public’s right to information.
Earlier in the day, Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam visited both buildings.
In a separate statement on Friday, the Chief Advisor’s Office said the head of government had spoken by phone with the editors of both newspapers following what it described as “barbaric attacks”.
Yunus described the assaults as attacks on independent media.
“These attacks on two of the country’s leading media institutions constitute an attack on press freedom,” he said, warning that the incidents posed a serious obstacle to democratic progress.
CHHAYANAUT RESPONDS WITH SONGS
Cultural Affairs Advisor Mostofa Sarwar Farooki described the attack, vandalism and arson at the Chhayanaut building in Dhanmondi as a criminal offence and contrary to the spirit of the July Uprising.
He said the government was working to swiftly arrest those involved and ensure exemplary punishment. Farooki visited the Chhayanaut premises at around 2:30pm and said the Ministry of Cultural Affairs would coordinate with Chhayanaut to assess the damage and take necessary steps.
In a statement later, Chhayanaut said it was a voluntary, self-reliant cultural organisation that did not accept funding from governments, foreign agencies or corporations.
“Chhayanaut will overcome this damage through its own strength and is determined to swiftly restore its activities in music and children’s general education,” it said.
The organisation, a symbol of Bengali cultural awakening, stressed that its work lay not in politics but in nurturing Bengali identity through music and cultural practice.
BNP, NCP VOCAL
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told BBC Bangla that the incidents of “mobs” attacking, vandalising and setting fire to locations including Prothom Alo, The Daily Star and Chhayanaut across the country are part of “a conspiracy to destabilise Bangladesh”.
He said the BNP condemns the killing of Osman Hadi and considers the violence, including mobs, attacks and vandalism, as part of a “blueprint”.
Fakhrul added that these acts are attempts to establish extremism. “Nothing, however, can be forced or imposed in Bangladesh through ‘mobs’, because it is not possible in the country’s liberal culture.”
The senior leader also described the violence as an “attempt to derail elections”.
The NCP, meanwhile, exercised caution while planning its programmes on Friday.
According to BBC Bangla, following former student advisor Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain’s call for caution, the party’s leader Nahid Islam urged careful action during their events.
Considering the overall situation, the party also cancelled its post-Friday prayer programme at Shahbagh in the capital.
Later at a press conference at Banglamotor, NCP Chief Coordinator Patwary urged everyone to take to the streets peacefully in protest against Hadi’s killing.
He said, “We do not want to attack the Indian embassy. We urge the 180 million people of Bangladesh to act non-violently and democratically on the streets. Those who want to sabotage, attack journalists or assault foreign missions should be restrained and brought into the streets as brothers and sisters in solidarity.”
MFC CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON MEDIA
The Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) condemned the attacks and arson at the offices of the national dailies, calling for a swift and thorough investigation into the incidents.
In a joint statement, member states of the global alliance working on media freedom denounced what they described as attacks on journalists, editors and media organisations.
It added that such acts of violence and intimidation were “unacceptable” and also constituted an assault on “the public’s right to information”.
Calling for accountability, the MFC urged authorities to ensure the safety of all media professionals and to conduct a prompt and impartial investigation to bring those responsible to justice.
Journalists must be able to work without fear, the statement said, stressing that their protection was essential to uphold the rule of law, democratic values and an open, well-informed society.
The Media Freedom Coalition is a global alliance of 51 countries committed to promoting and protecting press freedom worldwide. Established in Canada in 2019, the coalition is currently co-chaired by Germany and Finland.
BGB DEPLOYED
Following the arrival of Hadi’s body in the country, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has been deployed at key locations across the capital to maintain law and order.
In a Friday evening statement, the force said it has been stationed at the airport, Karwan Bazar, InterContinental Dhaka and other important areas.
INQILAB MONCHO PLANS STRINGENT ACTION
Inqilab Moncho, a platform inspired by the July Uprising, said it will continue to demand justice for Hadi’s killing and will announce a strict programme “very soon”.
The platform has also urged people not to fall into any trap of directives or provocation from others.
Saeed Hasan, leader of Inqilab Moncho’s Dhaka University chapter, said: “Our programme has not been finalised yet. Discussions are ongoing. Once finalised, we will announce it on the Facebook page.”
