‘Today Shahbagh, Tomorrow Jamuna’: Osman Hadi’s Inqilab Moncho Plans Nationwide Blockades Across Bangladesh, Issues Warning

Inqilab Moncho has announced nationwide blockades in all divisional cities across Bangladesh from Sunday, as protests demanding justice for slain party leader Sharif Osman Hadi intensified and spread beyond the capital.

The blockades are set to begin at 11:00 am local time, the organisation said in a Facebook post, according to The Daily Star. The announcement was also made from Dhaka’s Shahbagh intersection, where Inqilab Moncho activists have been staging a sit-in since Friday, Prothom Alo reported.

On Saturday, demonstrators — largely from Inqilab Moncho — blocked major roads and held sit-ins in Dhaka, Sylhet, Chattogram and Kushtia, calling for the arrest of those responsible for Hadi’s killing.

In the capital, protesters who occupied Shahbagh after Friday prayers briefly shifted to the front of Aziz Supermarket on Saturday afternoon to allow BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman to visit Hadi’s grave near Dhaka University. They returned to Shahbagh around 12:40 pm, bringing traffic to a complete standstill, The Daily Star said.

Warning of escalation

Addressing protesters at Shahbagh, Inqilab Moncho Member Secretary Abdullah Al Jaber warned of a further escalation if the government failed to respond.

“Today we are in Shahbagh; tomorrow we may occupy Jamuna [the chief adviser’s residence], the parliament or even the cantonment,” he said, according to The Daily Star.

Jaber criticised what he described as the government’s inaction, noting that no adviser had visited the protest site despite the sit-in continuing since Friday. “People were shivering on the streets while the advisers were sleeping at home,” he said, adding that public confidence in the administration was eroding.

He also claimed that the movement had the capacity to overthrow the government if it chose to do so, warning authorities not to underestimate the protesters’ strength.

Meanwhile, women, children and people from cultural and professional backgrounds joined the demonstration on Saturday. Poems were recited, verses from the Holy Quran were read, and slogans demanding justice echoed through Shahbagh.

Killing of Sharif Osman Hadi

According to Prothom Alo, Sharif Osman Hadi — considered a leading figure of the July mass uprising — formed Inqilab Moncho in August last year and was seen as a potential candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

On December 12, shortly after Friday prayers, Hadi was shot while travelling in a rickshaw on Culvert Road in Old Paltan, Dhaka. He later died while receiving treatment in Singapore and was buried near the Central Mosque of Dhaka University, beside the grave of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.

Inqilab Moncho has vowed to remain on the streets until all those involved in the killing are arrested, warning that it may lay siege to Jamuna or the cantonment if the situation deteriorates further.

Wider unrest

Hadi’s death has triggered widespread unrest across Bangladesh. Local media reported incidents of vandalism and arson, including attacks on the Dhaka offices of The Daily Star and Prothom Alo.

Separately, protests were also reported in parts of India, including Kolkata, over the alleged killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu garment factory worker who was reportedly beaten to death over blasphemy allegations. In another incident, a Hindu youth, Amrit Mondal, was lynched in Rajbari district’s Pangsha sub-district over an alleged extortion case, with police registering multiple cases, including murder, against those involved.