Rajshahi AL Office Razed by Bulldozer as Protests Over Sharif Osman Hadi’s Death Intensify

Tensions in Rajshahi reached a breaking point in the early hours of Friday, December 19, following the news that Inqilab Mancha leader Sharif Osman Hadi passed away while undergoing treatment in Singapore. Hadi had been in critical condition since being shot during an election campaign event in Dhaka on December 12.

Around 1:30 AM, a group of protesters brought a bulldozer to the Rajshahi Metropolitan Awami League office in the Kumarpara area and completely demolished the structure.

The unrest began around 11:00 PM on Thursday at the Rajshahi University campus. A large procession involving RUCSU leaders, Islami Chhatra Shibir, and general students marched from Zoha Chattar to Saheb Bazar Zero Point.

Demonstrators chanted slogans against the "ousted fascist regime" and demanded the immediate removal of the Indian Assistant High Commission in Rajshahi, alleging foreign interference in Bangladesh’s internal affairs.

During a rally at Zero Point, RUCSU VP and RU Shibir President Mostakur Rahman Zahid delivered a speech targeting The Daily Star and Prothom Alo. He labeled the outlets as "liberal" entities acting against national interests, ordered their journalists to leave the site, and called for the newspapers to be shut down.