Staff Reporter :
Leaders and activists of Inqilab Mancha on Friday blocked the Shahbagh intersection in the capital, demanding justice for the killing of their convener Sharif Osman bin Hadi.
People from different walks of life including women and children joined the protest, bringing traffic at the busy junction to a halt. They said that they would continue the programme overnight.
The blockade began after Jummah prayers, as announced earlier by the platform. Protesters marched from the Dhaka University Central Mosque to Shahbagh and took position there.
Osman Hadi was a prominent face of the July mass uprising and formed Inqilab Mancha in August last year.
He was also a prospective candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency and had been active in grassroots political outreach.
On 12 December, shortly after Jummah prayers, Hadi was shot while travelling in a rickshaw on Culvert Road in the capital’s Purana Paltan area.
He was hit in the head, while the assailants fled the scene on a motorcycle.
After initial treatment in Dhaka, he was flown to Singapore for advanced care, where he died on 18 December.
His funeral prayer was held last Sunday at Manik Mia Avenue, attended by hundreds of thousands of mourners.
He was later buried near the grave of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam beside the Dhaka University Central Mosque.
Since his death, Inqilab Mancha has been holding a series of programmes demanding the arrest and trial of those responsible. Friday’s blockade was part of that continued campaign.
Protesters chanted slogans including “No compromise, only revolution”, “We will all become Hadi”, and “We want justice for Hadi’s killing”. Religious and political slogans were also heard during the demonstration.
Inqilab Mancha member secretary Abdullah Al Jaber said they would remain on the streets until justice is delivered.
“We had given the government time until 25 December to arrest the killers. The government has failed. Now a continuous movement will begin. The government failed to ensure the security of Osman Hadi. Until the killers are arrested, the government will not even be able to resign. Resignation is not a solution; arresting the killers is the only solution,” he said.
Speaking about their movement, Jaber said, “We will continue our sit-in throughout the night. The blockade programme will continue until the killers are arrested.”
He added that the movement Hadi had led against what he described as cultural dominance would go on in his name, and warned they were prepared to spend the night at Shahbagh if necessary.
Shahbagh police station officer-in-charge Md Moniruzzaman said a procession led by Inqilab Mancha began blocking the intersection around 2:30pm, after which vehicular movement remained suspended.
