Bangladesh: Inqilab Moncho Threatens Nationwide Blockades Over Leader’s Death

Dhaka – Inqilab Moncho, a protest platform in Bangladesh, has declared comprehensive blockades across all divisional cities starting Sunday, as demonstrations seeking justice for the killed student leader Sharif Osman Hadi gain momentum and extend outside the capital.

The blockades are set to commence at 11:00 am local time, as stated in a Facebook post by the organization, according to Bangladesh newspaper The Daily Star. The announcement was also delivered from the Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka, where Inqilab Moncho has maintained a sit-in since Friday, Prothom Alo reported.

On Saturday, activists primarily from Inqilab Moncho disrupted traffic and held sit-ins in Dhaka, Sylhet, Chattogram, and Kushtia to demand accountability for Hadi’s death, local media outlets reported.

In Dhaka, demonstrators who had occupied Shahbagh following Friday prayers and remained overnight temporarily relocated to the area near Aziz Supermarket around noon to facilitate a visit by BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman to Hadi’s grave in the Dhaka University vicinity, The Daily Star noted. They returned to Shahbagh by approximately 12:40 pm, completely stopping vehicle movement.

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Speaking at the Shahbagh gathering, Inqilab Moncho Member Secretary Abdullah Al Jaber issued a stern warning of heightened protests if the government does not respond.

“Today we are in Shahbagh; tomorrow we may occupy Jamuna [the chief adviser’s residence], the parliament or even the cantonment,” The Daily Star quoted him as stating.

Jaber accused the government of inaction, pointing out that no adviser had visited the protest site despite the ongoing sit-in. “People were shivering on the streets while the advisers were sleeping at home,” he remarked, noting declining public trust in the administration.

He further asserted that the platform could have overthrown the government on December 12 during Hadi’s funeral prayers if it had chosen to do so, adding that neither Jamuna nor the cantonment could have protected those in power, according to The Daily Star.

Participants on Saturday included women, children, and individuals from diverse cultural and professional fields. The protest featured poetry recitations, Quran readings, and chants calling for justice.

Sharif Osman Hadi, viewed as a key figure in the July mass uprising, established Inqilab Moncho in August of the previous year and was a prospective candidate for the Dhaka-8 parliamentary seat, Prothom Alo reported.

On December 12, Hadi was shot in the head while traveling in a rickshaw on Culvert Road in Old Dhaka shortly after prayers. He succumbed to his injuries during treatment in Singapore and was laid to rest near the grave of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam beside Dhaka University’s Central Mosque.

Inqilab Moncho has vowed to remain on the streets until the arrest of those responsible for Hadi’s killing and has cautioned that further deterioration could lead to sieges of the cantonment or Jamuna, the chief adviser’s residence.

Hadi’s death has sparked extensive unrest, including reported vandalism and arson at the Dhaka offices of The Daily Star and Prothom Alo.