Dhaka-8 MP aspirant Hadi shot in head
Staff Reporter :
Sharif Osman Hadi, an independent contender for the Dhaka-8 parliamentary seat and spokesperson for the Inqilab Mancha platform, is fighting for his life after being shot at in a targeted attack in the capital on Friday afternoon, barely 24 hours after the national election schedule was announced.
The incident has thrown a harsh spotlight on the rising tension and unease surrounding the country’s election season.
Witnesses said Hadi was travelling by rickshaw in the Bijoynagar-Paltan area when two men on a motorcycle approached and opened fire at close range.
The road was unusually quiet due to the holiday, allowing the gunmen to flee within seconds. CCTV footage captured the moment the attacker fired before speeding away.
Hadi was rushed to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) with a bullet wound to the right side of his head. Doctors said he arrived in an extremely critical condition.
Resident surgeon Dr Mostaque Ahmed said, “When Hadi was brought to the emergency ward, his condition was very critical. He was given CPR. His pressure is now stable.”
DMCH Director Brig Gen Md Asaduzzaman said, “No bullet was found inside his head after operation. The surgeons have stated that the bullet had exited the head.”
Later in the evening, the family took the decision to move Hadi to Evercare Hospital in the capital for improved treatment.
An ambulance carried him from DMCH to Evercare at around 7:35pm.
The attack took place shortly after Jumma prayers.
Police cordoned off the crime scene in front of DR Tower on Box Culvert Road.
Teams from the PBI, CID, DB and other agencies began collecting evidence and reviewing CCTV footage.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sheikh Md Sazzad Ali said law enforcement had launched a combing operation.
“The terrorists, wherever they hide, will be arrested,” he said, adding that CID and RAB were also involved in the hunt.
Motijheel Division Deputy Commissioner Md Harun-or-Rashid said initial findings showed Hadi and another individual were travelling by rickshaw when the attack took place.
“We are trying to gather the full details. Multiple police teams are working,” he said.
Hadi had earlier raised concerns about his safety. In mid-November, he posted on Facebook that he had received death threats from foreign numbers warning of plans to harm him and his family.
As news of the shooting spread, crowds gathered outside DMCH.
Security was tightened, and army personnel were deployed as relatives, supporters, July fighters and political leaders rushed to the hospital.
The mood was tense, angry and deeply anxious. Supporters of Hadi jeered BNP leader Mirza Abbas when he arrived at the hospital around 4 pm.
The BNP nominee for Dhaka-8 was met with chants of “Bhua, Bhua”. Security officers escorted him inside as protesters continued shouting.
Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, after visiting Hadi, said, “An incident like this cannot be downplayed.
The perpetrators must be arrested immediately, and those behind it must be identified and presented before the nation.”
Meanwhile, Hadi’s associates said they had identified two suspects who had recently joined his campaign team as volunteers.
According to them, the men had been with Hadi for several days, taking part in door-to-door outreach.
They never revealed a political affiliation and insisted they simply wanted to support his campaign.
Israfill Forayezi, an organiser of July Unity, said the pair always wore masks and refused to remove them when asked. “Hadi bhai didn’t take it seriously,” he said.
On Friday morning, the same two men reportedly stayed close to Hadi during his campaign at Segunbagicha and Motijheel.
After Jumma prayers, while the PR team accompanied Hadi inside the mosque, the suspects waited outside, watching him.
Abdullah Al Minhaj, a Dhaka University DACSU leader and member of Hadi’s PR team, said the men behaved suspiciously throughout the morning and did not allow anyone to take their photographs.
“We have their pictures, but we are not releasing them now to avoid harming innocent people. But in the motorcycle footage, they are visible,” he said.
He added, “The attackers will try to erase evidence. It was clearly a planned assault.”
In Hadi’s hometown in Nalchity, Jhalakathi, activists of Students Against Discrimination blocked roads in protest.
At the college intersection on the Jhalakathi-Barishal highway, tyres were burnt as anger poured out on the streets, according to Sadar Police chief Imtiaz Ahmed.
Hadi, a former student of Dhaka University’s Political Science Department, first gained prominence during the anti-discrimination movement in 2024.
Before that, colleagues say, he was not officially aligned with any political party.