Inqilab Moncho protesters return to Shahbagh blockade after dispersal

Inqilab Moncho activists have returned to block Shahbagh intersection after being dispersed earlier and engaging in prolonged chases with police.

On Friday after 9pm, the protesters moved back onto the key Dhaka road after police withdrew from the area, ending nearly one and a half hours of back and forth chases.

At the intersection, protesters shouted slogans like “Naraye Takbir, Allahu Akbar” while mocking the police presence.

Earlier, the activists marched from the Raju Memorial Sculpture on the Dhaka University campus after 5pm before taking up positions at Shahbagh.

The blockade caused traffic to come to a complete standstill at the intersection, triggering severe congestion on the surrounding roads.

By 8pm, the situation remained volatile as protesters tried to regroup near the intersection, prompting police to fire tear gas shells to drive them back.

The tear gas scattered the crowd once again as activists quickly took up positions on nearby streets.

Chases between protesters and law enforcers continued until 9pm.

This fresh wave of protests demanding justice for the killing of the platform convenor Sharif Osman bin Hadi’s justice began on Thursday when Inqilab Moncho members staged a sit-in outside the chief advisor’s residence, State Guest House Jamuna.

The platform had also called for a gathering outside the InterContinental Dhaka after Friday prayers to press the same demand.

Around 4pm, as the procession moved from that gathering toward Jamuna, clashes broke out with police, turning the area outside the hotel into a battlefield.

The tension rapidly spread across the entire stretch from Shahbagh to Banglamotor.

To break up the crowd, police swung batons and hurled sound grenades and tear gas shells.

Several people, including the platform’s Member Secretary Abdullah Al Jaber, were injured and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment.

In the midst of the chaos, the Inqilab Moncho Facebook page claimed Jaber had been shot.

After several media outlets ran stories based on that post, the police issued a formal denial of using firearms.

The interim government has mirrored police's stance, and authorities at DMCH also confirmed they found no evidence of gunshot wounds among the injured brought to their facility.