Following the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, a well-known youth leader of the nation's 2024 pro-democracy uprising, Bangladesh experienced significant unrest overnight.
Demanding justice for Hadi, who passed away in a Singapore hospital from bullet wounds sustained during an assassination attempt last week, thousands of demonstrators descended into Dhaka's streets late Thursday and early Friday.
What started in the nation's capital swiftly extended to other regions. Protesters blocked roads, set political offices on fire, and vandalized assets associated with the erstwhile ruling Awami League as the demonstrations spread from Dhaka to several other cities.
While protesters in Rajshahi set fire to an Awami League office, demonstrators in Dhaka gathered late into the night. Local TV footage shows an attack on a former minister's home in the southern city of Chittagong.
Additionally, demonstrators blocked a vital route that connected Mymensingh and Dhaka. Anti-India shouts grew prominent as the demonstrations intensified. In a number of places, protesters tried to march in the direction of Indian diplomatic facilities.
Protesters attempted to march in the direction of a regional Indian diplomat's office in the southwestern city of Rajshahi, but the procession was halted by police.
Stone-pelting episodes near the Indian assistant High Commission office were captured in a number of social media videos.
Police used tear gas to scatter hundreds of protesters who were trying to assemble outside Indian diplomatic facilities in Dhaka, including the home of India's deputy high commissioner.
Alleging that Hadi's attackers had escaped to India, members of the National Citizen Party (NCP), a significant branch of Students Against Discrimination (SAD), joined the demonstrations.
Leaders of the protest demanded that the Indian High Commission be closed until the accused were brought back. "The Indian High Commission to Bangladesh would stay closed till India returns the assassins of Hadi Bhai, according to the interim administration. Either now or never. "We are in a war!" said Sarjis Alm, a prominent NCP politician, according to PTI.
Several buildings in the capital were set on fire as the violence escalated late on Thursday night. The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, the two biggest publications in the nation, were targeted. At least three arson incidents were confirmed by fire officials.
Media sources stated that while firemen battled the flames, journalists and employees were trapped inside the premises. According to a witness cited by PTI, "several hundred demonstrators reached the Prothom Alo office around 11 pm and later surrounded the building." Protesters then set fire to the Daily Star office.
The demonstrations took place just hours after the situation in Bangladesh was deemed "complex and evolving" by a parliamentary committee on external affairs.
The committee has been made aware of how complicated and dynamic the current situation is in Bangladesh. The date of the democratic elections is unclear.
According to its report titled "Future of India-Bangladesh Relationship," "the political events of August 2024 have created significant instability and uncertainty with incidents of violence, attacks, and intimidation of minorities, tribal communities, media groups, intellectuals, journalists, academicians, etc., becoming the norm."
The 32-year-old Hadi was a prominent member of the student-run Inqilab Mancha and an outspoken opponent of Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration. On December 12, he was shot by masked attackers as he was exiting a central Dhaka mosque.
After receiving sophisticated medical care, he was evacuated to Singapore, where he passed away on Thursday. Muhammad Yunus, the interim leader of Bangladesh, declared a day of mourning, called for special prayers across the country, and referred to Hadi's passing as a "irreparable loss for the nation."
A nationwide manhunt has been initiated by police, who have released photos of two suspects and offered a five million taka reward for information leading to their capture. Authorities have warned that the increasing violence could jeopardize the nation's precarious political transition.
