Sharif Osman Hadi, an independent candidate in Dhaka-8 constituency and spokesperson of Inqilab Mancha, remains in a critical condition after being shot in the capital’s Bijoynagar area on Friday afternoon.
Doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) said Hadi suffered a gunshot wound below his left ear and underwent emergency surgery after being brought in with severe bleeding. “His condition is very critical — this is what we mean by ‘critical’ in medical terms,” said Prof Dr Zahid Hasan, head of DMCH’s Neurosurgery Department.
He said Hadi showed faint “signs of life” right from arrival and even during surgery. “Our anesthesia specialists observed that he still had some respiratory effort. He is alive, but we cannot give any hopeful prognosis. The rest is in God’s hands.”
During the operation, Hadi suffered two cardiac arrests and massive bleeding, including from his nose and mouth, the doctor added, right before he was transferred to Evercare Hospital.
Due to the need for advanced ICU support, Hadi’s family decided to transfer him to Evercare Hospital. An ambulance carrying him reached Evercare around 8pm, confirmed DMCH Director Brig Gen Md Asaduzzaman. “He is on life support and his condition remains highly unstable,” he told reporters.
DMCH Emergency Department Resident Surgeon Dr. Moshkat Ahmed said a CT scan revealed a bullet lodged in Hadi’s head. His associates were seen searching urgently for B-negative blood due to extensive hemorrhage.
According to initial reports, unidentified assailants opened fire on Hadi around 2:25pm on Kalvert Road in Bijoynagar, moments after he began election campaigning following Friday prayers.
Witnesses said, and CCTV footage from the area circulating on social media showed, Hadi and his friend were on a rickshaw when his attackers pull up beside him on a black motorcycle, fire one shot at him from close range, and flee immediately.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Media and Public Relations Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Talebur Rahman confirmed the sequence of events, saying efforts are underway to identify the gunmen.
The attack has drawn strong condemnation from Chief Adviser of the interim government, Prof Muhammad Yunus, who expressed deep concern and instructed law enforcement agencies to launch a swift and thorough investigation. He ordered that all individuals involved in the attack be identified and brought to justice without delay.
Hadi, covered in blood, was rushed to the hospital on a rickshaw by his companions, hospital sources said.
Further updates on his condition are awaited.
