The party of slain student leader Sharif Osman Hadi on Tuesday held a day-long rally in Dhaka, demanding justice in his killing and calling for, among other measures, the cancellation of work permits of all Indians residing in Bangladesh.
As part of its four-point charter, Inqilab Moncho also sought the repatriation of the alleged killers, claiming they have taken refuge in India, and warned that Dhaka should approach the International Court of Justice if New Delhi refuses to hand them over, The Dhaka Tribune reported.
Indian authorities have rejected claims that the suspects crossed into India, saying there is no evidence of any illegal border movement.
The ‘March for Justice’ began around 11.30 am from Shahbagh, with activists travelling on 10 pickup vans and on foot through major intersections including Science Lab, Mohammadpur, Mirpur-10, Uttara, Bashundhara, Badda, Rampura and Jatrabari, before returning to Shahbagh in the evening, the newspaper quoted the organisers as saying.
Participants said the protest was aimed at highlighting what they described as a “lack of progress” in the investigation into Hadi’s killing and demanded that all those involved — including the killer, planners, accomplices and those who sheltered them — be brought to trial before the February 12 parliamentary elections.
During the march, demonstrators raised slogans such as “We will not let Hadi’s blood go in vain,” “Why is the murderer free while my brother lies in the grave?” and “Red and green flag, the flag of Inqilab—you can see Hadi”.
The protesters also demanded that alleged “fascist accomplices” within the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence be identified, arrested and brought to justice, the report said.
Hadi, 32, a prominent youth leader who rose to national prominence during the July–August 2024 mass protests that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government, was shot in the head on December 12 during an election campaign in Dhaka. He was also a parliamentary candidate for the February 12 elections. Airlifted to Singapore for treatment, Hadi died on December 18.
His killing has triggered fresh political unrest in Bangladesh and strained ties with India after some groups alleged an Indian link to the crime, allegations New Delhi has strongly rejected.
“We have rejected the false narrative that has been projected in Bangladesh. The law and order situation and developments happening there is the responsibility of the government of Bangladesh. To portray a narrative where things go in another direction is completely false and we reject that,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last month in New Delhi.
He said India stands for strengthening its ties with the people of Bangladesh and favours peace and stability in the country. India has also called for a thorough probe into Hadi’s killing amid a sharp downturn in bilateral relations.
On December 28, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) S N Md Nazrul Islam claimed at a press conference that suspects Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh “crossed into the Indian state of Meghalaya via the Haluaghat border with the help of local associates”.
Security agencies in Meghalaya dismissed the claim as “unfounded and misleading”.
“There is no evidence to suggest that any individual crossed the international border from the Haluaghat sector into Meghalaya. The BSF has neither detected nor received any report of such an incident,” Border Security Force Inspector General in Meghalaya O P Opadhyay had said.
The Meghalaya Police also said there was “no input or intelligence to corroborate” the claim that the suspects were present in the Garo Hills region, which falls under Meghalaya’s western sector along the Bangladesh border and is guarded by the BSF.
