Sharif Osman Hadi, a key leader of Bangladesh’s 2024 student-led uprising, has died in Singapore after sustaining gunshot wounds in a targeted attack in Dhaka, officials confirmed on Friday.
Masked assailants shot the 32-year-old spokesperson of the student protest group Inqilab Mancha last week as he exited a mosque in the capital. The bullet struck his ear and caused critical injuries.
Doctors airlifted Hadi to Singapore on Monday for advanced treatment. Despite intensive medical care, he succumbed to his injuries, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The ministry added that it is coordinating with Bangladeshi authorities to repatriate his body.
Inqilab Mancha announced his death earlier on social media, calling Hadi a martyr and praising his role in the movement that helped topple former prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year.
Hadi had planned to contest the February 2026 general elections, which will be Bangladesh’s first parliamentary polls since the uprising that ended Hasina’s long rule. The former prime minister remains in self-imposed exile in India after her conviction in absentia.
VIDEO | Bangladesh's interim government chief Muhammad Yunus appeals for peace as Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent leader of the July Uprising and a spokesperson of the Inqilab Manch who was shot last week, died on Thursday night while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital… pic.twitter.com/nej9SUJs3h
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 18, 2025Interim Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus confirmed Hadi’s death in Dhaka and offered condolences to his family. He described the killing as an irreparable loss and warned that violence would not derail Bangladesh’s democratic transition.
“The country’s journey toward democracy cannot be stopped through fear, terror, or bloodshed,” Yunus said in a televised address.
The interim government announced special prayers after Friday prayers and declared a half-day of national mourning on Saturday.
Hadi remained a senior figure within Inqilab Mancha and frequently criticised India, a close ally of the ousted Hasina government. His killing has further heightened political tensions ahead of the vote.
🪧 Demonstrators gathered in the streets of Dhaka, following the death of Bangladeshi political leader Sharif Osman Hadi at a hospital in Singapore
📌 Hadi, a young politician who emerged as one of the leaders of the summer 2024 uprising, had been shot by an identified Awami… pic.twitter.com/SoktlCVsii
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) December 18, 2025Manhunt underway
Bangladesh police have launched a nationwide manhunt for the attackers. Authorities released photographs of two prime suspects and announced a reward of five million taka, roughly $42,000, for information leading to their arrest.
Yunus said earlier that the shooting was a premeditated act carried out by a powerful network. He warned that the attack aimed to intimidate voters and disrupt the upcoming elections.
Bangladesh, home to around 170 million people, will elect 300 members of parliament through direct voting. Lawmakers will select an additional 50 seats from a reserved women’s list. Voters will also take part in a referendum on major democratic reforms on the same day.
Political uncertainty remains high. The January 2024 election gave Hasina a fourth consecutive term, but opposition parties rejected the outcome as fraudulent.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia, is widely expected to perform strongly in the upcoming polls. Zia remains in intensive care in Dhaka, while her son and political successor, Tarique Rahman, is set to return from exile in Britain on December 25 after 17 years.
