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The shooting of Sharif Osman bin Hadi, an independent candidate in Dhaka-8 and convener of the Inquilab Mancha platform, a day after the election schedule was announced has sparked intense debate in the political arena.
It has also brought renewed attention to Osman Hadi’s political stance, his fiery rhetoric, and his role in the July Uprising and the movement to ban the Awami League.
Hadi studied in the 2010-11 session of the Department of Political Science at the University of Dhaka. He first came to wider notice for his role in the 2024 anti-discrimination protests.
Hadi’s ancestral home is in Nalchity, Jhalakathi. His father was a madrasa teacher. He began his education at Nesarabad Kamil Madrasa before later enrolling at Dhaka University.
At one stage, Hadi taught at the English coaching centre Saifur’s. According to activists of the Inquilab Mancha, he was most recently working as a lecturer at the private University of Scholars.
Because of his madrasa background -- and his language and dress -- many suspected he might belong to Islami Chhatra Shibir or Hizb ut-Tahrir. But his colleagues insist that, before the July Uprising, Hadi was not involved with any political party.
They say he was active in the cultural sphere and had written several books.
After the uprising, the cultural and political platform Inquilab Mancha was formed under Hadi’s leadership. The group declares its mission as: “Standing against all forms of domination, protecting independence and sovereignty, and building a state based on justice.”
In this year’s DUCSU (Dhaka University Central Students’ Union) election, Fatima Tasnim Juma of Inquilab Mancha was elected Secretary for Liberation War and Democratic Movements from a panel led by Shibir.
A fierce critic of the Awami League, Osman Hadi hailed the International Crimes Tribunal’s death sentence for Sheikh Hasina by saying: “This verdict has set a precedent for the entire world.”
In July, speaking at Dhaka University, he warned that if the BNP returned to power but pursued “politics in the old style”, it would “not last even two years” in office.
At various times Hadi has also criticised the Bangladesh Army. Beyond that, he has attacked what he sees as the weaknesses of the interim government and the lack of visible change, proposing instead the formation of a national government.
After clashes erupted during the NCP’s “March to Gopalganj” programme earlier this year, Hadi delivered a blistering speech calling for Gopalganj district to be dissolved, remarks that triggered a storm of controversy.
He later described that tirade as a “great epic of liberation”, though he apologised to those who had felt hurt by his words.
In November, Hadi wrote on his Facebook page that he had received phone calls and messages from at least 30 domestic and foreign numbers threatening to kill him, burn down his home and rape his mother, sister and wife.
In that post, he alleged that “killer” Awami League supporters were keeping him under constant watch. Despite “fears for his life”, he said, he would not back away from the “struggle for justice”.
More recently, Hadi announced that he would run as an independent candidate from Dhaka-8, a constituency comprising Motijheel, Shahjahanpur, Paltan, Ramna and Shahbagh police station areas. He had been holding outreach programmes every Friday in preparation for the campaign.
One of his comrades said they had planned to distribute leaflets at a mosque after Friday prayers. After the leafleting, everyone was supposed to gather at Suhrawardy Udyan for lunch and discussion. “It was in the middle of this plan that news of the attack on Hadi came,” he said.
Police say at 2:25pm on Friday, just after Jummah prayers, assailants on three motorbikes shot Hadi in the Bijoynagar Box Culvert area and fled. He was then taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Citing doctors, Md Faruk, in-charge inspector at the DMCH police outpost, said: “Osman Hadi was brought to the hospital emergency with a gunshot wound to the head. He is being treated in the ICU. His condition is critical.”
Israfi, a member of Inquilab Mancha, said: “Hadi Bhai was in a rickshaw when the attackers came on a motorbike, fired shots and fled. Hadi Bhai is now under treatment, we ask everyone to pray for him.”
Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal President Nasir Uddin Nasir has condemned the attack.
In a Facebook post, he wrote: “The attempt to kill independent candidate Sharif Osman Hadi by shooting him the very day after the election schedule was announced is a conspiracy to sabotage the national election. The terrorists who opened fire on Osman Hadi must be arrested immediately.
“The interim government and the Election Commission must ensure comprehensive security for candidates and voters without delay. I wish Sharif Osman Hadi a speedy recovery. He played an active role in the July Uprising. I urge everyone to pray for him.”