By News AgenciesPublished On 19 Dec 202519 Dec 2025Click here to share on social mediashare2ShareDemonstrators gathered throughout Bangladesh for a second consecutive day demanding justice for Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent figure in last year’s pro-democracy movement who died Thursday in a Singapore hospital after being shot by masked gunmen.The 32-year-old student leader, an outspoken critic of India, was attacked while exiting a mosque in Dhaka last week. As news of his death spread, mourning quickly transformed into public outrage on Friday.Several buildings were vandalised, including offices of media organisations perceived as sympathetic to India – the longtime ally of Bangladesh’s recently overthrown leadership.Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, currently in exile in India, was recently sentenced to death in absentia over last year’s deadly crackdown against a student-led uprising.“People have gathered here demanding the swift arrest of those who killed Hadi,” 20-year-old student protester Sajid Al Adeeb told the AFP news agency in Dhaka on Friday. He claimed the perpetrators were “currently in India”, an allegation New Delhi has not addressed.“I urge the government to take immediate and appropriate steps to arrest those responsible,” he added. “Above all, I want Hadi’s ideals to live on.”Thousands joined the demonstrations in Dhaka, carrying national flags and placards while chanting demands for justice. Similar protests occurred in Gazipur, Sylhet, and Chattogram.Thursday night saw protesters set fire to several Dhaka buildings, including the offices of prominent newspapers Prothom Alo and the Daily Star. Critics accuse these publications of favouring India, where former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sought refuge after fleeing during the 2024 uprising. Advertisement Staff trapped in the Daily Star building reported dangerous conditions. “I can’t breathe any more… You are killing me,” reporter Zyma Islam wrote on Facebook before firefighters rescued employees.Prothom Alo’s executive editor Sajjad Sharif condemned the incident as “an attack on freedom of the press, expression, dissent and diversity of opinion”.The interim government, led by 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, reached out to both newspapers’ editors and denounced …
