Inqilab Mancha announced on Friday that it will continue its sit-in blockade at Shahbagh intersection until justice is ensured for the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi and may call for a nationwide shutdown on Saturday.
The Dhaka University branch of the organization staged a protest march after Jummah prayers from the DU Central Mosque, moving through campus roads before taking position at Shahbagh intersection.
During the blockade program, Inqilab Mancha Central Member Secretary Abdullah Al Jaber said: “From today, we declare this Shahbagh as ‘Shaheed Osman Hadi Chattar.’ Our movement will not leave the streets until justice is ensured for Hadi’s killing.”
Students, leaders, activists, and members of the public from various backgrounds joined the sit-in, temporarily halting vehicular movement in the area. Observers said while the main road remained blocked, vehicles continued to move through smaller side streets.
In the evening around 7:30pm, Jaber said: “Tomorrow we will blockade here, In Sha Allah. People are coming from all over Bangladesh, and they will arrive and gather at Shahbagh by morning. We’re not going anywhere from here. We’ve taken our position, and when we say we’ve taken position, we mean we’ve taken position. We will not leave.”
The organization has also called on citizens to join the sit-in to raise their voices against what it called the culture of impunity. In a Facebook post on Friday afternoon, Inqilab Mancha appealed to people of the country to participate in the protest demanding justice for Hadi’s killing.
From the sit-in, Inqilab Mancha reiterated its previously announced three-point demand:
• A speedy trial tribunal must be formed to complete the trial for Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi’s murder within 30 working days.
• Internationally recognized professional intelligence agencies, such as the FBI or Scotland Yard, must be involved to ensure an impartial investigation.
• Individuals described by the organization as “Awami terrorists hiding within civil and military intelligence” must be identified, arrested, and brought to justice, and the home adviser, special assistant, and law adviser must resign taking responsibility for the killing.
Hadi, who founded Inqilab Mancha last August, was a potential candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency and had been actively engaging with the public.
On December 12, shortly after Jummah, assailants shot Hadi in the head while he was riding on a rickshaw on the Box Culvert Road in Purana Paltan. They later fled on a motorcycle.
Hadi was later taken to Singapore for advanced medical treatment, where he died on December 18. His namaz-e-janaza was held last Saturday on Manik Mia Avenue, attended by hundreds of thousands of people.
He was buried next to the grave of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, adjacent to Dhaka University’s central mosque.
Following the incident, a case of attempted murder was initially filed at Paltan Police Station. After Hadi’s death, the case was converted into a regular murder case.
