Situation tense in Bangladesh after unrest over uprising leader’s death

     Dhaka/ New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) Tension gripped Bangladesh on Friday after the death of prominent July Uprising leader Sharif Osman Hadi triggered protests, violence and vandalism in various parts of the country.
     While no incidents of violence were reported in the morning, protesters were seen vandalising the already demolished structure of 32 Dhanmandi, the home of Bangladesh’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
     Various parts of the country were rocked Thursday night by attacks and vandalism, including stone-hurling at the Assistant Indian High Commissioner's residence in Chattogram, after Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus confirmed Inquilab Mancha leader Hadi's death in a televised address to the nation.
     The Mancha had made the initial announcement of Hadi's death, whose body will be brought home later in the day.
     Hadi, a candidate in the scheduled February 12 general elections, died while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital after fighting for his life for six days.
     He was shot in the head last week by masked gunmen as he initiated his election campaign at central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area.
     Protesters on Thursday took to the streets and attacked offices of leading newspapers, vandalised 32 Dhanmandi with hammers, and also demolished an office of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's disbanded Awami League party in Rajshahi city.
     Regarded as the centre point of Bangladesh’s pre-independence struggle for autonomy for decades, 32 Dhanmandi was largely demolished with excavators on February 5 this year, while it was set on fire soon after the August 5, 2024, fall of the then Awami League government.
     Protesters also hurled bricks and stones at the residence the Assistant Indian High Commissioner in Chattogram at 1:30 am, but failed to cause any damage.
     Police responded with tear gas and baton charges, dispersing the crowd and detaining 12 protesters. A few injuries were also reported.
     Senior officials assured the assistant high commissioner of enhanced security.
     Last night, the National Citizen Party (NCP), a large offshoot of Students against Discrimination (SAD) that led last year’s violent protest -- dubbed the July Uprising, which ousted the Hasina-led government -- joined a mourning procession on the Dhaka University campus.
     Supporters of the group chanted anti-India slogans alleging that Hadi’s assailants fled to India after committing the murder. They called upon the interim government to close the Indian high commission until they were returned.
     “The interim government, until India returns assassins of Hadi Bhai, the Indian High Commission to Bangladesh will remain closed. Now or Never. We are in a war!” said Sarjis Alm, a key leader of NCP.
     Hasina, who fled Bangladesh after her ouster in August last year, is also in India.
     In Dhaka, protesters attacked the office of a leading cultural group, Chhayanaut, and brought out the furniture, setting it on fire.
     Sporadic violence was also reported from other parts of the country overnight.
     A group of people, believed to be part of the protesters, attacked the offices of Bangla newspaper Prothom Alo’s office and the nearby Daily Star at the capital's Karwan Bazar, near the Shahbagh intersection.
     Reports said they vandalised several floors while journalists and staff of the newspaper were trapped inside, and the mob ignited a fire in front of the building.
     Critically ill former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) strongly condemned the vandalism and said that the Yunus-led interim government will have to shoulder its responsibility.
     In his address on Thursday, Yunus vowed to bring those involved in Hadi's brutal murder to justice quickly, saying, “No leniency will be shown" to the killers.
     “I sincerely call upon all citizens – keep your patience and restraint,” he said.
     The chief adviser declared a one-day state mourning on Saturday, and said special prayers seeking forgiveness for Hadi’s soul will be organised in every mosque across the country after Friday prayers.
     "No one can stop the democratic progress of this country through threat, terrorist activities or bloodshed," he said, adding that the responsibility of realising Hadi's dream lies on the shoulders of the entire nation.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)