Fresh clashes erupted in Bangladesh’s Dhaka on Friday evening between police and Inqilab Mancho activists in the capital’s Shahbagh area over the demand for justice for slain student leader Osman Hadi.
The clashes during the protest left around 40 to 50 people injured, including Dhaka-18 independent candidate Mohiuddin Roni, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
According to the report, the police used baton charges, tear shells, and sound grenades to disperse protesters.
This is the second protest in front of Bangladesh’s chief advisor Muhammad Yunus’s residence on Friday. Earlier in the day, several government employees had also protested at the spot, demanding that the government implement the new pay commission report.
40 protestors confirmed injured
The confrontation between the police and the Inqilab Mancho activists began around 7:50 PM when the cops tried to remove protestors from the Shahbagh intersection, Dhaka Tribune reported. Tensions had been high since the afternoon as protesters demanded justice for the killing of Osman Hadi and a UN-led investigation.
The police confirmed that about 50 activists were brought to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment after the clashes, news agency PTI reported.
Hadi, a frontline activist in the violent 2024 student-led street protest dubbed the July Uprising that toppled then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government, was a candidate in the February 12 parliamentary polls.
He was shot in the capital on December 12 while electioneering and later succumbed to his injuries.
The interim government’s stance
The Bangladesh interim government, led by chief advisor Muhammad Yunus, reaffirmed its commitment to securing justice in the Osman Hadi murder case.
Yunus’ press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, said the government would ask the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to take charge of the inquiry to ensure full impartiality and justice.
In its statement following the clashes, Yunus’ office reiterated that the interim government was “deeply reviewing the legal aspects” of the UN investigation and would send a letter to the concerned UN agency on February 8.