Bangladesh is gripped by grief and unrest following the funeral of prominent activist Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson for the Inqilab Moncho platform, who succumbed to gunshot wounds on December 18, 2025, after a December 12 assassination attempt in Dhaka. Hundreds of thousands converged on Dhaka's streets and Parliament complex for the massive funeral on December 20, declared a national mourning day, waving flags and chanting "We will be Hadi" amid tight security, as his body repatriated from Singapore General Hospital was laid to rest on Dhaka University campus beside poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. Hadi, 32, a key figure in the 2024 student uprising that ousted Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule, had faced death threats and criticized India's alleged support for the exiled ex-PM.
His death ignited riots from December 18-20, with protesters torching offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, trapping staff on rooftops, as police identified Chhatra League suspects Awami League's banned student wing who allegedly fled to India, sparking diplomatic clashes with New Delhi summoning envoys mutually. Interim leader Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus condemned the "calculated attack" to derail February elections, offering a 5 million taka reward while urging calm amid anti-India fury in Dhaka, Chittagong, and Gazipur, including a Hindu man's lynching decried by authorities.
Hadi's killing, via masked motorbike gunmen targeting his rickshaw mid-election campaign kickoff, exacerbates post-Hasina tensions, with Inqilab Moncho vowing his blood won't go to waste as Yunus's government hunts perpetrators. The violence tests fragile stability eight months after Hasina's fall, fueling demands for justice and Hasina's extradition amid fears of electoral sabotage.