Inquilab Moncho rejects Hadi murder chargesheet
Slain Bangladeshi student leader Sharif Osman Hadi’s party has rejected the police chargesheet in his murder case and accused the State machinery of being involved in the killing. Inquilab Moncho on Tuesday also warned that those who “have shed blood” may be forced to “take blood as well” if justice is not ensured, Bengali daily Prothom Alo reported on Wednesday.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s (DMP) Detective Branch on Tuesday pressed formal charges against 17 people, including prime suspect Faisal Karim Masud, in connection with the murder and said Hadi was killed due to “political vengeance” at the behest of Awami League-nominated ward councillor Taizul Islam Chowdhury Bappi. Inquilab Moncho member secretary Abdullah al Jaber said “even a lunatic would not believe” the claim that Hadi was murdered merely on the instructions of a ward councillor, asserting that the party does not accept the chargesheet submitted by police.
He claimed that an entire “criminal syndicate”, as well as the “State machinery”, was involved in the killing. “Until they are brought to justice, our struggle will not stop. Any charge sheet that does not include their names is not acceptable to us,” Jaber said after the conclusion of the party’s ‘March for Justice’ programme.
He said Inquilab Moncho had carried out peaceful programmes to convey its demand for justice, but the chargesheet showed the Government had ignored public sentiment and “treated the people as fools”. Jaber warned that if justice for Hadi’s murder is not ensured and what he described as “Indian hegemony” is not ended, the people would decide the consequences. “These people have shed blood; if necessary, they will take blood as well,” he said.
Inqilab Moncho spokesperson Hadi, 32, rose to national prominence during the July-August 2024 mass protests that led to the fall of the Hasina-led Government, was shot in the head on December 12 during an election campaign in Dhaka. He was also a parliamentary candidate for the upcoming February 12 elections. Hadi was airlifted to Singapore for treatment, but died on December 18.
