Anti-India leader Osman Hadi’s brother accuses Yunus regime of murder plot to derail polls

Sharif Omar Hadi, brother of slain anti-India student leader and Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi, has accused a vested section within the Yunus-led regime of orchestrating his brother’s killing to sabotage Bangladesh’s upcoming national elections.

Addressing a “Shahidi Shopoth” (Martyr’s Oath) programme organised by Inqilab Mancha outside the National Museum at Shahbagh, Omar Hadi directly blamed the government for the murder. “It is you who had Osman Hadi killed, and now you are trying to foil the election by using this as an issue,” he said, according to thedailystar.net.

Omar Hadi said his brother was a strong advocate for holding national elections by February and warned the authorities against vitiating the electoral atmosphere. “Ensure a speedy trial of the killers so the election environment is not harmed. The government has failed to show us any visible progress,” he said.

He further cautioned that continued denial of justice could have political consequences, asserting that “if justice for Osman Hadi is not delivered, you too will be compelled to flee Bangladesh one day.”

He also claimed that his brother was targeted because he refused to submit to any agency or what he described as “foreign masters.”

Echoing the demand for accountability, Inqilab Mancha Member Secretary Abdullah Al Jaber reiterated the organisation’s 30-working-day ultimatum to the government to identify and arrest those responsible for the killing. The ultimatum was first announced earlier this week through a press statement.

Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent anti-India student leader associated with last year’s July uprising, was shot at close range on December 12 while travelling in a battery-powered rickshaw in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area. Media reports said two motorcycle-borne assailants pulled up beside his vehicle and shot him in the head.

He was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors diagnosed severe brain stem damage, before he was airlifted to Singapore for advanced treatment.

Hadi succumbed to his injuries on December 18, triggering widespread protests across Bangladesh. Demonstrators have since occupied key intersections, including Shahbagh in Dhaka, demanding the immediate arrest of the assailants and justice for the slain leader.