Bangladesh’s Muhammad Yunus-led interim government on Saturday ordered a nationwide security clampdown after fresh unrest erupted following the shooting of a youth leader of a right-wing cultural group in central Dhaka.
Inquilab Mancha leader Sharif Osmann Hadi, also a candidate in the 12 February general elections, was shot on Friday while initiating his election campaign in the Bijoynagar area. Doctors said his condition is very critical.
Announcing heightened security measures, home affairs adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said the government would roll out the second phase of Operation Devil Hunt.
“The government is going to start the second phase of Operation Devil Hunt to help ensure public safety and combat the growing threat of illegal arms,” he told a press conference.
The interim government had first launched Operation Devil Hunt in February this year after protests over an attack on a former minister’s private residence in a northern suburb of the capital.
That operation targeted alleged “henchmen” and supporters of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s now disbanded Awami League.
Chowdhury announced a reward of Taka 50 lakh (USD 40,985.81) for information leading to the arrest of one of the suspects involved in the shooting.
Police released photographs of the suspect, identifying him as Faisal Karim Masud. He was among three motorcycle-borne assailants who shot Hadi in the head from close range in Bijoynagar, where the youth leader is contesting as an independent candidate.
Newspaper reports quoting Hadi’s associates said the assailants were acquainted with him and had accompanied him since Friday morning, a day after the election commission announced the poll schedule.
Hadi was first taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital after the attack and later shifted overnight to Evercare Hospital.
“His (Hadi’s) condition is critical. He has been provided a life support system,” Dhaka Medical College Hospital director Brigadier General Mohammad Asaduzzaman said earlier.
Doctors at Evercare Hospital said on Saturday that his condition “remains static” but “not out of danger”. The medical board treating him decided against immediate surgery, opting instead for medication and supportive care.
Chief adviser Muhammad Yunus ordered a manhunt for the suspects and on Saturday met Hadi’s family members, assuring them of full support for his treatment.
“The whole country is praying for him, and everyone is trying to ensure that he receives the best medical care,” Yunus said.
Hadi was a frontline leader of last year’s student-led violent street protests known as the July Uprising, which toppled the Hasina-led Awami League government on 5 August.
Chowdhury said the government had taken steps to ensure special security for the “frontline fighters” of the July Uprising.
He added that MP candidates would be issued firearm licences if they wished, and that candidates who had earlier surrendered their licensed weapons would have them returned.
The attack drew sharp reactions from several political groups, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by critically ill former prime minister Khaleda Zia, Jamaat-e-Islami and the student-led National Citizen Party.
NCP chief organiser Hasnat Abdullah, a close associate of Hadi during and after the uprising, said, “There would be no place for fascists (Awami League) in Bangladesh, regardless of the name or platform under which they operate.”
Addressing a protest rally, he added, “We take an oath in Osman Hadi's blood – they will not be given even an inch of space in this country.”
The Inquilab Mancha has been spearheading a campaign demanding the arrest of what it calls “all terrorists” of the disbanded Awami League from the central to grassroots levels and seeking security for the “July warriors”.
It also led a movement to disband the Awami League, a step taken by the Yunus-led interim government in May this year, effectively disqualifying the party from contesting the upcoming polls.
