Bangladesh has been plunged into renewed violent unrest in recent days following the assassination of popular student leader and parliamentary candidate Sharif Osman Hadi.
The 32-year-old, a staunch critic of neighboring India, was a key figure in the 2024 pro-democracy uprising that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Hadi was shot by masked gunmen on December 12 while leaving a mosque in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. He died during treatment in a hospital in Singapore on 18 December.
The student leader had planned to contest the general elections to be held on February 12.
Violent protest over murder
Violent demonstrations started in Dhaka after Hadi’s assassination. Protesters set fire to several buildings, including those of two major newspapers considered pro-India, as well as a major cultural institution.
They also pelted stones at the Indian High Commission in the port city of Chattogram. After this India has suspended visa services there.
Police said they have identified suspects in Hadi’s murder but have not yet arrested them.
“The culprit could be either inside or outside the country,” said Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi home affairs adviser. “Had his exact location been known, he would have been caught,” Chaudhary said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Hadi’s killing and urged authorities to conduct a “prompt, impartial, thorough and transparent investigation in line with international human rights standards”.
Lynching of Hindu man raises security fears
In a separate incident, Dipu Chandra Das, a 25-year-old Hindu man, was beaten to death and publicly burnt on December 18 on charges of blasphemy in Bhaluka sub-district of Mymensingh district.
The murder has deepened fears of insecurity among religious minorities in Muslim-majority Bangladesh since Hasina’s ouster.
Minority groups have accused the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus of failing to protect them. The Yunus administration rejects this allegation.
Officials said at least 12 suspects were arrested after Das’s murder.
Tension between Bangladesh and India
The death further escalated tensions between Dhaka and New Delhi, where hundreds of people protested near the Bangladesh High Commission. Bangladesh has since stopped visa services in New Delhi, Siliguri and Agartala citing security concerns.
Under Hasina’s leadership, Bangladesh shared warm relations with India.
New Delhi saw him as a friend and the countries increased bilateral economic and security cooperation.
Hasina’s opponents accused her administration of being subservient to India.
Since his fall, relations between the countries have deteriorated.
Hasina, who has taken refuge in India, was sentenced to death in absentia due to her government’s crackdown on the 2024 student revolt. He has denied the allegations against him.
India has not acted on repeated requests by the Bangladesh government for his extradition.
Dhaka-based political historian Mohiuddin Ahmed said New Delhi’s support for Hasina and helping her remain in power for years has led to anti-India resentment among Bangladeshis. “This also helped his party manipulate elections in the past,” he said.
Top leaders will return from exile
Against the backdrop of political unrest and heightened regional tensions, Tariq Rahman, one of Bangladesh’s top politicians, is set to return home on Thursday, after spending 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.
He is the heir to the country’s longtime ruling family and the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which is widely seen as the front-runner in the 2026 elections.
Rahman, who says he fled political persecution, has lived in London since 2008. He was implicated in the grenade attack on Hasina rally in 2004. He denied the charges but was sentenced to life imprisonment in his absence.
Rehman has been acquitted since Hasina’s expulsion.
Rehman is expected to take over the leadership of the party from his ailing mother, 80-year-old former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
Dhaka-based political analyst Zahed Ur Rahman views Rahman’s return as favourable.
“Many things will happen with his return. The administration will start functioning properly. The perception of elections will pick up. And his party’s confidence will come back,” he told DW.
“I think if the BNP works properly at the grassroots level, the polling will be good,” he said.
Ahmed also shared a similar view, saying that Rahman’s return would reinvigorate the BNP, which has been without an active and visible leader for years due to the imprisonment and illness of former Prime Minister Zia.
Will the elections be free and fair?
A December survey by the US-based International Republican Institute indicated that the BNP could win a majority of seats in February.
About 33% of those who participated in the survey said they would vote for the BNP. Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamic party, is in second place with about 29%.
Roughly 6% said they would vote for the newly founded National Citizens Party, which was formed by students who led last year’s rebellion.
Hasina’s Awami League party, which was barred from the elections, has threatened to take to the streets in protest. This has cast doubt on the ability of the interim administration to conduct free and fair elections.
Ahmed believes that credible elections will be held in February.
“In our country, political parties indulge in uncontrolled activities during elections. This is nothing new. However, if the government wishes, it can control them to ensure peaceful elections,” he said.
Edited by: Srinivas Majumdaru