Sharif Osman Hadi, one of the most prominent leaders of Bangladesh’s 2024 student protests that brought down the government of Sheikh Hasina, had died in Singapore. 32-year-old Hadi was the convener of the radical platform Inqilab Mancha. He died on December 18, 2025, in a Singapore hospital while under treatment for gunshot injuries sustained in an assassination attempt in Dhaka on December 12.
Hadi was campaigning as an independent candidate ahead of February 2026 elections.
Hadi had been one of the most radical Islamist and anti-India voices in the student protests and its aftermath. He had shared maps of ‘Greater Bangladesh’ depicting India’s Bengal, Bihar and the entire North Eastern states as Bangladesh territory, and the entire Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab as Pakistani territory.
Hadi’s death has made his supporters violent. Violent protests have broken out in Dhaka and other cities, with rioting mobs of Inquilab Mancha and other radical groups vandalising and setting fire to the offices of major newspapers, Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, accusing them of bias. Demonstrators also targeted Indian diplomatic missions, raising anti-India slogans and throwing stones.
VIDEO | Dhaka, Bangladesh: Protesters vandalised the office of the country's largest newspaper, Daily Prothom Alo, amid widespread outrage over the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson for the political platform Inquilab Mancha.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 18, 2025
(Full video available on PTI Videos –… pic.twitter.com/6klEh8xj4U
Bangladesh’s interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus declared national mourning on December 20.
Nobody has been arrested yet for shooting Hadi, though a 35-year-old leader named Faisal Karim Masud has been declared the prime suspect. Masud is a former leader of Chhatra League.
