Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, a key figure in Bangladesh’s 2024 student-led uprising who had been airlifted to Singapore for medical treatment after surviving an assassination attempt, has died.
Confirming his death on Thursday, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, “Despite the best efforts of the doctors … Hadi succumbed to his injuries.”
Hadi had emerged as one of the most prominent faces of the student movement and was being considered as a possible candidate from the Dhaka-8 constituency in Bangladesh’s national elections scheduled for next February. He was shot in the head on December 12 in the capital city of Dhaka while travelling in a battery-powered auto-rickshaw.
According to investigators, the attack was carried out by assailants riding a motorcycle, who opened fire at close range before fleeing the scene. Hadi was immediately rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors confirmed that the bullet had caused extensive damage to his brain stem.
Given the severity of his condition, Hadi was evacuated from Bangladesh on December 15 and admitted to the neurosurgical intensive care unit of Singapore General Hospital for advanced treatment.
Thirty-two-year-old Hadi was a senior leader of the student protest platform Inqilab Mancha and was widely known for his outspoken criticism of India. India is a long-standing ally of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who remains in self-imposed exile following her removal from power.
Following Hadi’s death, Bangladeshi police intensified their investigation into the assassination attempt. Authorities have released photographs of two main suspects and announced a reward of five million taka—approximately $42,000—for information leading to their arrest.
The head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammad Yunus, expressed his condolences, describing Hadi’s death as “an irreparable loss for the nation.”
“The country’s march towards democracy cannot be halted through fear, terror, or bloodshed,” Yunus said in a televised address on Thursday.
The interim government also announced that special prayers would be held at mosques after Friday prayers and declared a half-day of mourning on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the news of Hadi’s death triggered immediate unrest. Hundreds of angry protesters poured onto the streets of Dhaka and several other parts of the country, expressing grief, anger, and defiance in the wake of the killing.
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