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A leader from Bangladesh’s 2024 uprising, who was injured in an assassination attempt and transported to Singapore for medical treatment, has passed away in the city-state, according to officials on Friday.
Masked assailants shot 32-year-old Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson for the student protest group Inqilab Moncho, last week as he was leaving a mosque in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The attack resulted in a gunshot injury to his ear.
“Despite the best efforts of medical professionals, Mr. Hadi succumbed to his injuries,” stated Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, which also noted that it is aiding Bangladeshi authorities in repatriating his remains.
Inqilab Moncho broke the news of Hadi’s death via Facebook, expressing that “In the fight against Indian dominance, Allah has called the great revolutionary Osman Hadi home as a martyr.”
Hadi was a candidate in the upcoming February 2026 elections, the first parliamentary elections since a student-led uprising overthrew the autocratic rule of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last year.
He was flown to Singapore on Monday for treatment. The interim government in Dhaka, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, confirmed Hadi’s death.
“I extend my deepest condolences. His passing is an irreparable loss to our nation,” Yunus said.
He added, “The country’s journey toward democracy cannot be halted through fear, terror, or violence.”
In response, the government announced special prayers at mosques after Friday prayers and declared a half-day of mourning on Saturday.
Hadi was a senior figure within Inqilab Mancha and was known for his vocal criticism of India, a long-time ally of Sheikh Hasina, who remains in self-imposed exile.
### Manhunt for Suspected Gunmen
Bangladesh police have initiated a manhunt for those responsible for shooting Hadi, releasing images of two primary suspects and offering a reward of five million Taka (roughly $42,000) for information leading to their apprehension.
Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize recipient leading Bangladesh until the elections on February 12, described the shooting as a deliberate attack orchestrated by a powerful network, though no specific group has been named.
He stated, “The goal of these conspirators is to sabotage the election,” asserting that the attack was “symbolic — meant to show their strength and disrupt the entire electoral process.”
Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country with a population of approximately 170 million, will directly vote for 300 members of parliament, with an additional 50 seats filled via women’s quotas.
On the same day, a referendum on a significant democratic reform package will also take place.
Political tensions are high as parties prepare for the elections, leaving the country in a state of volatility.
Sheikh Hasina, convicted in absentia last month and sentenced to death, refused to attend her trial and remains in hiding in India despite Bangladesh’s repeated requests for her extradition.
The last elections, held in January 2024, awarded Hasina a fourth term and her party, the Awami League, 222 seats. However, opposition parties described the elections as illegitimate.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by three-time former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is widely expected to win the upcoming vote.
Zia remains in intensive care in Dhaka, and her son, Tarique Rahman, a political heir, plans to return from exile in Britain on December 25 after 17 years abroad.
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