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Independent election candidate for Dhaka-8 constituency and Iquilab Moncha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi was shot in a daylight drive-by attack Friday, incidentally in the first strike after poll schedule.
Police and witnesses said he came under the gun attack while reportedly moving towards the High Court area on a battery-driven three-wheeler, and the act of pre-poll violence stoked protests from the interim government and the political parties in the electoral race.
Critically injured, the election aspirant was rushed to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) and later shifted to Evercare Hospital for better treatment.
The shooting incident took place after Jumma prayers, at about 2:25pm, on Box Culvert Road in Bijoynagar.
"Two unidentified miscreants riding a motorbike approached the battery-run rickshaw carrying two persons, including Hadi, and fired at Hadi pointblank before hurriedly leaving the place," says a spot account by police and witnesses.
As condition of the young man, one of the frontline leaders in last year's mass uprising that toppled the Awami League governing regime, deteriorates fast, the attending doctors at the country's largest public hospital put him on life support.
Later, Hadi was taken to the Evercare Hospital in Basundhara Residential Area of the capital for better treatment.
"I have heard that he ( Hadi) was shot. We will provide more information once the details are confirmed," Deputy Police Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) of Ramna Division Masud Alam said shortly after the incident.
The incident happened a day after the announcement of the schedule for holding the upcoming parliamentary election slated for February 12 next.
As the news of shooting on Hadi spread across the country through media outlets and social-media platforms, supporters of Hadi, mass-uprising activists, leaders and supporters of various political parties thronged the DMCH premises to inquire about his physical condition.
Mohammad Rafi, who was on a rickshaw behind Hadi at the time, said at DMCH, "After Jumma prayers, we were heading towards the High Court on rickshaws. As we reached Bijoynagar, two men on a motorcycle approached and fired at Hadi bhai before escaping. I was on the rickshaw right behind him."
Israfil Forayezi, one of the organisers of the July Unity platform, states that the shooting occurred during election campaigning.
Physicians at the Department of Neurosurgery at DMCH said he was shot in the head and they completed his brain surgery. Thereafter, ENT team and then the orthopedics department were working.
Condemning such heinous gun attack, the supporters of Hadi and other political leaders and activists took to the streets demanding immediate arrest of those involved in the shoot-and-run attac
To control law and order in the city and elsewhere across the country, additional law enforcers, including army personal, deployed at various positions to avert any further trouble, especially ahead of the upcoming polls.
Following the incident, leaders and activists of various political parties, including Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, rushed to DMCH to inquire about Hadi's health.
When BNP standing committee member and party candidate for Dhaka -8 constituency went to see his rival independent contestant Osman Hadi at about 4:00pm, Hadi's supporters got angry and began chanting slogans against Mirza Abbas.
In the face of such backlash, witnesses said, the BNP leader with protection of additional law enforcers entered the emergency of the hospital and left the place soon after staying some moments there.
Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman also arrived at DMCH around 5:00pm, accompanied by Jamaat's Dhaka-8 candidate Dr Helal Uddin.
National Citizens Party (NCP) convener Nahid Islam, chief organiser Hasnat Abdullah and several others also went to the hospital.
Earlier, on 14 November, Hadi had written in a Facebook post that he had received threats of murder and arson, along with threats of sexual assault against his mother, sister and wife.
He wrote: "In the last three hours, Awami League's killers had called and texted me from at least 30 foreign numbers. They said I am under constant watch. They will burn my home, rape my mother, sister and wife, and kill me."
Political parties and their student organisations strongly condemned the attack.
At 6:00pm, the Dhaka University unit of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal held a protest march that began at the DMCH emergency gate and moved toward the outpatient department.
Chhatra Dal central president Rakibul Islam Rakib, general secretary Nasir Uddin Nasir, DU Chhatra Dal president Ganesh Chandra Roy Sahas, general secretary Nahiduzzaman Shipon and others joined the rally.
At the same time, DUCSU leaders held a protest march on the university campus. Starting from the DUCSU building, the rally circled the campus and ended at the VC Chattar. DUCSU VP Shadik Kayem and other student leaders were present.
Sharif Osman bin Hadi studied in the Department of Political Science at Dhaka University (2010-2011 session). He became known for his role in the 2024 anti-discrimination movement. After the mass uprising, he founded the Inqilab Manch and served as its spokesperson. The platform has since been active on various national issues.
Earlier, a BNP candidate suffered bull wounds in a campaign attack in Chattogram.
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