Hundreds of thousands of people attended the funeral of a leading Bangladeshi activist who died of gunshot wounds sustained in an attack in Dhaka earlier this month, as political tensions gripped the country ahead of elections.
Sharif Osman Hadi, who took part in last year’s political uprising that ended former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s15-year rule, died in a hospital in Singapore on Thursday after being shot on Dec 12 in Dhaka.
Police said they had identified suspects and that the shooter had most probably fled to India, where Hasina has been in exile.
The development sparked a new diplomatic squabble with India and prompted New Delhi this week to summon Bangladesh’s envoy.
Bangladesh also summoned the Indian envoy to Dhaka.
Security was tight in Dhaka on Saturday as the funeral prayers were held outside the nation’s Parliament complex.
Sharif’s body returned on Friday night, and Saturday was declared a national mourning day.
Sharif was a spokesperson for the Inqilab Moncho culture group, which said he would be buried on the Dhaka University campus beside the country’s national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
Mourners carried Bangladesh flags and chanted slogans, such as “We will be Sharif, we will be fighting decades after decades,” and “We will not let Sharif’s blood go in vain.”
The news of his death on Thursday evening triggered violence, with groups of protesters attacking and torching the offices of two leading national dailies.
The country’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, has urged the people to stay calm.
Sharif was a fierce critic of both neighbouring India and Hasina, who has been in exile since Aug 5, 2024, when she fled Bangladesh.
Sharif had planned to run as an independent candidate in a major constituency in Dhaka in the next national elections in February. — AP
