Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent 32-year-old student leader and election candidate in Bangladesh, has died from injuries sustained in an assassination attempt.

He succumbed on 18 December 2025 at Singapore General Hospital after six days of intensive treatment. Hadi, shot in the head by masked assailants on 12 December while campaigning in Dhaka, represented a radical faction within the country's volatile political landscape.

The attack occurred on Culvert Road in Dhaka's Paltan area, near a mosque, as Hadi travelled in a battery-powered auto-rickshaw. He suffered a wound to the ear, initially treated at Dhaka Medical College Hospital before transfer to Evercare Hospital. Bangladesh's interim government, under Muhammad Yunus, airlifted him to Singapore amid a critical prognosis from local doctors.

Singapore's Foreign Ministry confirmed the death late on Thursday, noting efforts by the National Neuroscience Institute proved futile. The ministry pledged assistance to the Bangladesh High Commission for repatriating Hadi's body to Dhaka. Born in 1994 in Nalchity Upazila, Jhalokhati district, Hadi emerged as a frontline figure in last year's July uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule.

As a senior leader of Inquilab Mancha—a student protest group branded radical—Hadi spearheaded efforts against the Awami League. Despite the Yunus administration disbanding the group and barring it from elections, Hadi campaigned independently for Dhaka-8 in the 12 February polls. Reports describe him as holding staunch anti-India views, including circulating maps of a 'Greater Bangladesh' incorporating Indian territories.

News of his death triggered widespread protests, with thousands flooding streets in Dhaka and beyond demanding justice for his killers. Bangladesh police launched a manhunt, releasing photos of two suspects and offering a five-million-taka reward (approximately $42,000). Dhaka police spokesman Muhammad Talebur Rahman announced heightened border security to aid the investigation.

Interim leader Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel laureate steering Bangladesh until the elections, declared a national day of mourning on Saturday. Flags will fly at half-mast across government, semi-government, private buildings, and missions abroad. Special prayers follow Friday's Jummah services, with Yunus pledging welfare support for Hadi's wife and child, terming him a 'martyr'.

Hadi's demise underscores deepening instability since Hasina's ouster. The uprising dismantled her iron-fisted regime but unleashed radical Islamist currents seeking to erase the 1971 Liberation War legacy. Anti-India rhetoric has surged, with provocations targeting India's northeast, initially sparked by Yunus's own remarks.

Political platforms now echo detachment from India alongside growing affinity for Pakistan—the very force behind the 1971 atrocities of torture, rape, and mass murder. Yunus's administration recently sought India's cooperation to apprehend Hadi's attackers, alleging their possible refuge across the border. New Delhi firmly rejected these claims, dismissing them as fabrications by extremists.

India emphasised its outright repudiation of narratives linking it to the assassination bid. This episode highlights Bangladesh's flux, where student-led radicalism intersects with electoral ambitions and geopolitical tensions. Hadi's independent candidacy defied bans, amplifying voices critical of past alignments.

The interim government's response blends mourning with security measures, yet public outrage risks escalating unrest ahead of polls. Protests have already turned violent in parts of Dhaka, per reports. Dhaka's edge reflects broader anxieties over targeted killings amid a fragile transition.

As Bangladesh repatriates Hadi's remains, the manhunt intensifies with international undertones. Yunus's leadership faces tests in balancing radical elements, election preparations, and neighbourly frictions. The incident may reshape anti-India sentiments, influencing the 12 February vote's dynamics.

For India, monitoring these developments remains crucial given shared borders and historical ties strained by recent shifts. Hadi's death marks a pivotal moment, potentially galvanising radicals while exposing governance vulnerabilities in post-Hasina Bangladesh.

Based On NDTV Report