Shahbagh Intersection Declared ‘Shaheed Osman Hadi Square’

The Shahbagh intersection in the capital erupted in protest as thousands of students and citizens gathered demanding justice for the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, a frontline fighter of the July mass uprising and spokesperson of the Inqilab Mancha.

From after Jumma prayers on Friday (19 December), crowds began assembling at Shahbagh, turning the area into a hub of demonstrations. At a protest rally held in the afternoon, Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) Vice President Md Abu Sadek announced that Shahbagh would henceforth be known as “Shaheed Osman Hadi Square.”

He said protesters would not return home until the killers of Osman Hadi are brought to justice. At the rally, the DUCSU vice president also called on all anti-fascist forces to unite.

People from different political affiliations and ideologies joined the protest at Shahbagh, some arriving in processions while others gathered spontaneously. Demonstrators were seen carrying various flags and chanting slogans. Shahbagh echoed with slogans such as “Break the black hands of fascism,” “There will be no place for the Awami League in this Bengal,” “We will not let Hadi bhai’s blood go in vain,” and “We will all become Hadi and keep fighting generation after generation.”

The protests intensified after news spread on Thursday (18 December) around 9:45pm that Sharif Osman Hadi had died while undergoing treatment at Singapore General Hospital.

Sharif Osman Hadi, one of the key organizers of the July uprising, was shot by assailants on 12 December while riding in a moving rickshaw during a public outreach program in Bijoynagar, Dhaka. He was initially treated in Dhaka and later transferred to Singapore, where he breathed his last on Thursday night.